Roma have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia after defeating Lecce 3-1 in the last 16.
Jose Mourinho showed that he meant business by fielding practically a full-strength squad that has Sergio Oliveira, Tammy Abraham, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the starting lineup.
This is despite the absence of Gianluca Mancini (suspension), Lorenzo Pellegrini and Leonardo Spinazzola (injuries); Chris Smalling (COVID-19); Amadou Diawara, and Ebrima Darboe (the Africa Cup of Nations).
Leece, on the other hand, are without their hitman Pablo Rodriguez (muscular problem). Other absentees include Alessandro Tuia, Luca Paganini, and Fabio Pisacane.
At the Stadio Olimpico, the visitors shocked their hosts, taking the lead through Arturo Calabresi in the 14th minute. This was a reward for Calabresi nodded in from a corner.
The offside flag had gone up for Gargiulo’s position, but VAR showed that he too was level, and the goal was given.
Roma later upped their game eventually and restored parity in the 40th minute through Marash Kumbulla from Roma, making the score even. Tammy Abraham flicked on a corner for the head of Kumbulla at the back post.
Nine minutes after the resumption of the second half, Tammy Abraham scored to put Roma in front of their turf. The former Chelsea striker completed the comeback when Zaniolo’s dummy let a Henrikh Mkhitaryan ball through. The Englishman made no mistake after controlling and spun round to drill home from the edge of the box.
Lecce was later reduced to 10 men after Gargiulo got his second booking for a foul on Zaniolo.
To put the game beyond doubt to avoid a late equalizer that could make both teams play extra time or even penalties if required, Eldor Shomurodov scored another goal for the hosts.
With the result, the Gialorossi will now face Serie A champions Inter Milan in the quarter-final next month.
Lecce, the only remaining Serie B side in the Coppa Italia are now out. The stage is now left for the big boys.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed
