BERGAMO: Two stoppage-time goals helped Atalanta beat ten-man Fiorentina 4-1 in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final on Wednesday to send them into the final with a 4-2 aggregate victory.

Atalanta will face record 14-times winners Juventus in the final on May 15 in Rome after Massimi­liano Allegri’s side qua­lified with a 3-2 aggregate win over Lazio despite a 2-1 defeat in the second leg of their semi-final on Tuesday.

Atalanta, who last week eliminated Liverpool from the Europa League quarter-finals, reached their sixth Italian Cup final. They lifted their sole Italian Cup trophy in 1962-63.

Fiorentina beat Atalanta 1-0 at home in the first leg earlier this month, courtesy of a first-half strike by midfielder Rolando Mandragora.

However, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side were quick to level the tie when midfielder Teun Koopmeiners outpaced the Fiorentina defence to score low inside the far post in the eighth minute.

Striker Gianluca Scamacca thought he had doubled Atalanta’s lead five minutes later, firing home from outside the box, but his effort was ruled out for a foul in the buildup.

Atalanta were the more dangerous side and they continued to find their way into Fiorentina’s box as both Koopmeiners and Charles De Ketelaere could have increased the advantage before the break.

Last year’s finalists Fiorentina were reduced to 10 men shortly after the break when defender Nikola Milenkovic was sent off for taking down the racing Scamacca just outside the box.

Despite being outnumbered, Fiorentina equalised through defender Lucas Martinez Quarta, who netted with a header following a free kick.

But Scamacca levelled the tie again in the 75th minute with a stunning scissor kick.

Substitute Ademola Lookman then made it 3-1 on the night in stoppage-time, a strike that was initially ruled out for offside but the referee reversed his decision after a VAR check, before Mario Pasalic put the tie to bed just before the final whistle.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2024