MILAN: Empoli reached the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia on Wednesday after beating Fiorentina, who were playing their first match since Edoardo Bove’s collapse, 4-3 on penalties.

Sebastiano Esposito struck the winning spot-kick after also netting the goal which took the match to a 2-2 draw and the decisive shootout.

On loan from champions Inter Milan, Esposito brilliantly dinked in his leveller in the 75th minute after Riccardo Sottil and Moise Kean — who ballooned over his penalty — had briefly put the hosts a goal ahead.

Empoli will face Juventus or Cagliari in the last eight, with matches in the next round to be played in February.

Bove, who collapsed with 16 minutes played of Fiorentina’s called-off Serie A match with Inter Milan on Sunday, is in Florence’s Careggi hospital where he is undergoing tests to determine what caused him to lose consciousness.

“I don’t think it was very easy to play this match. We had a bit of difficulty at the beginning, anyone could see it,” said a clearly emotional Fiorentina midfielder Danilo Cataldi. “We had more chances but we couldn’t capitalise on them. It’s a shame.”

Bove, 22, didn’t want a big fuss made of him, telling his team-mates that he didn’t want to see them wearing a special T-shirt in the pre-match warm up.

Instead they held up held up two banners which read “You didn’t want a T-shirt, well here’s a banner” and “we’re waiting for you Edo”.

Fans made a display with Bove’s shirt number four as the two teams came out, but barely did they have time to discard the pieces before Fiorentina were a goal down.

Lucas Martinez Quarta got caught dawdling on the ball on the edge of his own area and the ball rebounded to Emmanuel Ekong who calmly rolled home the fourth-minute opener.

Fiorentina laboured and Kean came closest to levelling in the opening period when his header from Dodo’s cross hit the crossbar.

But Italy forward Kean was on hand to equalise in the 59th minute with his 13th goal of the season, a simple tap-in after Empoli goalkeeper Jacopo Seghetti kept out Riccardo Sottil’s shot.

And Sottil put Fiorentina ahead 11 minutes later when he cut inside from the left and fizzed off a shot which was deflected past Seghetti off his own team-mate Robin Gosens’ back.

Empoli looked set for elimination but Esposito beautifully netted the goal which took the match to penalties and eventual passage to the quarters for the away team.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2024