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Soccer News of Tuesday, 26 February 2019

Source: StarTimes Ghana

Coppa Italia on StarTimes: 4 teams compete for glory

The match starts at 8pm sharp and would be premiered on StarTimes Ghana The match starts at 8pm sharp and would be premiered on StarTimes Ghana

For the four remaining teams in the Coppa Italia, the competition offers the best and arguably the only opportunity to pick up some silverware this season.

And in the absence of Juventus, who won the cup for the last four years, but were knocked out in the previous round, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Atalanta will fancy their chances.

The semi-finals are a two-legged affair, with the first leg being staged this midweek.

Lazio kick-off proceedings on Tuesday with their game in the Stadio Olimpico against AC Milan. I Biancocelesti, who are looking for a seventh Coppa title, needed a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals, but will now fancy their chances against the other Milan side.

The Rossoneri though, have a new star upfront. Krzysztof Piatek joined Milan from Serie A rivals Genoa after Gonzalo Higuain left the club and moved to Chelsea.

The Polish striker has been on fire since making the switch and has scored six goals in five outings, including the two that knocked high-flying Napoli out of the competition.

Another player who has been outstanding form this season is Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessie, who has played an important part in turning Milan back into a formidable force.

On Wednesday, Fiorentina take on Atalanta.

Having only been in the final three times in their long history the visitors are hoping for a first appearance since 1996, with a 3-0 victory against the mighty Juventus leaving fans now wanting more.

But then Fiorentina’s quarter-final game against Roma was not too shoddy either.

A Federico Chiesa brace and another from Luis Muriel gave the Gigliati a comfortable 3-1 lead at the break and Chiesa, Marco Benassi and two late goals by Diego Simeone’s son Giovanni Simeone crowned a glorious 7-1 win for Fiorentina.

Midfielder Bryan Dabo was an unused substitute for Fiorentina against Roma, but the Burkina Faso international has been given some game time by coach Stefano Pioli this season and will be hoping to play a part against Atalanta.

For Atalanta the star performer this season has been Colombian striker Duvan Zapata, who scored two of the three goals against Juventus. The loanee from Sampdoria, has found the net on a regular basis and currently stands joint third in the Serie A scorer charts with 16 goals, just three behind Ronaldo.
The return legs will be played in the last week in April.

Both matches will be broadcast exclusive and live on StarTimes Sport Channels in Africa.

Football fans in Ghana and the rest of Africa can watch the top games live and exclusive on the StarTimes football channels and APP as the leading Digital-TV operator has secured the rights to the competition.