PARMA: Italy midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini scored both goals to send AS Roma into the Coppa Italia quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Parma on Thursday.

In a match between fifth-placed Roma and Parma, in seventh, the side from the capital prevailed to return to winning ways in the Ennio Tardini Stadium after back-to-back Serie A defeats.

After an unimpressive first half, Roma appeared transformed right from the start of the second period and took the lead four minutes after the restart.

Pellegrini, 23, played a swift one-two with Nikola Kalinic before placing an angled drive into the bottom right corner.

The home side pushed for the equaliser but instead Pellegrini converted a penalty the 76th minute following a handball from Parma midfielder Antonino Barilla.

Roma next play Juventus in the quarter-finals at the Allianz Stadium after the record 14-time Cup winners brushed aside Udinese 4-0 on Wednesday.

Roma are second only to Juventus in the number of Cup trophies with nine, most recently in 2008.

Holders Lazio made short work of Serie B side Cremonese in their 4-0 victory in Rome on Tuesday with last year’s finalists Atalanta falling 2-1 to 10-man Fiorentina.

Inter Milan beat Cagliari 4-1 while city rivals AC Milan dispatched SPAL, 3-0, with new star signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic remaining on the bench.

Quarter-final fixtures (all times 1945GMT):

January 21: Napoli v Lazio.

January 22: Juventus v AS Roma.

January 28: AC Milan v Torino

January 29: Inter Milan v Fiorentina.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2020