ROME, Jan 22 ― Napoli alleviated their crisis when an early solo goal by Lorenzo Insigne gave them a 1-0 win over holders Lazio in their Coppa Italia quarter-final today, which also featured a bizarre penalty miss by Ciro Immobile for the losers.
There were also two red cards in the first half hour and both sides hit the woodwork twice in the second half while Lazio had two goals disallowed as they exited the competition in a remarkable game.
Lazio had won their last six matches in all competitions while Napoli had lost four out of six ― including three at home ― since Gennaro Gattuso replaced Carlo Ancelotti in December, plunging them into a crisis.
“We've been through an embarrassing period but today the lads have played a great match against the very good team who are Lazio,” said Gattuso.
“I saw a team with great spirit, you need a lot of intensity to play Lazio... We need to stay hungry and not rest on our laurels,” he added. “We need to keep playing with this hunger and this venom.”
Insigne gave Napoli a much-needed boost when he collected the ball on the left, skipped past his marker and side-footed a low shot past Thomas Strakosha and into the far corner after two minutes.
There was more drama as Lazio won a penalty in the 10th minute after Elseid Hysaj bundled over Felipe Caicedo but Immobile, Serie A's leading scorer with 23 goals, slipped as he ran up to take the spot kick and scooped the ball harmlessly wide.
Hysaj, who had been booked over the penalty, lunged into Immobile and was given a second yellow card after only 19 minutes. Yet six minutes later, Lazio midfielder Lucas Leiva was booked for a foul, then sent off for protesting the decision.
“Lucas got the ball and should not have been booked but he is an experienced player and should not have reacted the way he did,” said Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi.
It was not Immobile's night as he had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half and smashed a shot against the crossbar in the 85th minute.
Lazio's Manuel Lazzari also hit the post with a deflected shot and Francesco Acerbi turned in the rebound but it was ruled out for offside with two minutes left.
Napoli were also unlucky as Arkadiusz Milik headed against the inside of the post in the 70th minute and Mario Rui curled an effort against the upright.
“It's disappointing to lose a match we dominated,” said Inzaghi. ― Reuters
