Lazio knocks AC Milan out of Coppa Italia
Mattia Zaccagni proved to be the man of the moment as his late goal helped Lazio progress to the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia with a 1-0 win over AC Milan.
Just five days after Milan beat Lazio by the same scoreline in Serie A, Lazio's captain fantastic exacted revenge for Maurizio Sarri's side in a cagey affair.
Lazio started brighter at Stadio Olimpico but were unable to test Mike Maignan, with Valentin Castellanos and Toma Basic skewing strikes wide of the mark early in the game.
Castellanos did, however, produce the game's first shot on target in the 33rd minute, but Milan captain Maignan comfortably held on as the Rossoneri sought a response.
Milan's best chance fell to Ruben Loftus-Cheek, though his instinctive back-heel did not trouble Christos Mandas before Gustav Isaksen saw his strike saved at the other end.
Loftus-Cheek headed over shortly after the restart before Alexis Saelemaekers continued Milan's second-half improvement by stinging the palms of Mandas from close in.
Massimiliano Allegri's side should have taken the lead through Rafael Leao with 19 minutes remaining, but he could only slam his left-footed half-volley high into the stands.
Lazio made the most of that reprieve in the 80th minute when Zaccagni peeled off his man before brilliantly heading Nuno Tavares' corner past Maignan for the winner.
After finishing as runner-up in the Coppa Italia in 2025-2026, Milan would have fancied another deep run in the competition this season, given its strong start to Serie A, but it was limited to very few chances by a well-drilled Lazio side.
