ROME: Federico Chiesa ended his 378-day wait to score again as Juventus defeated Monza 2-1 in the Coppa Italia on Thursday as they set up a quarter-final showdown with Lazio.

The Italian winger had not scored since January 6, 2022, just before a serious knee injury kept him out of action until November.

Coming on after an hour, and with the tie level at 1-1, Chiesa raced away down the left wing before hitting the winner in the 78th minute.

Moise Kean had headed Juventus into an eighth-minute lead after a well-timed cross from Weston Mckennie before Monza midfielder Mattia Valoti levelled with a powerful header from a corner in the 24th minute.

“It is just a pity we conceded a goal on a corner where we should’ve been more careful, but the important thing was to get through to the next round,” Juventus assistant manager Marco Landucci told Sport Mediaset.

Kean thought he had sent Juve into the lead in the 76th minute but he was ruled offside after firing in a shot from close range.

Two minutes later, substitute Chiesa sent Juve­ntus ahead again when he managed to move into the box and placed the shot into the far right post.

Monza desperately tried to get an equaliser but the Juve defence managed to control the pressure until the end of the match.

Lazio squeezed past Bologna 1-0 after a pre-match homage to recently deceased Sinisa Mihajlovic.

Mihajlovic’s widow and children were pitch-side as a video of his storied career, which included playing for Lazio and coaching Bologna, was broadcast on a giant screen.

Serie A icon Mihajlovic died of cancer at the age of 53 in mid-December and Bologna had been his final club. As a player, he won the Serie A title with Lazio.

Lazio’s Brazilian midfielder Felipe Anderson tapped home from close range after a defensive mix-up after 33 minutes to settle the match.

A brace from winger Ademola Lookman launched Atalanta’s romp into the quarter-finals with a 5-2 win over Spezia.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2023