Lazio maintained their impressive Coppa Italia Round of 16 streak with a tight 1-0 win over Alberto Gilardino’s Genoa.
The Biancocelesti have reached the quarter-finals of their last 12 consecutive Coppa Italia campaigns, not falling at the first hurdle in the Round of 16, and this didn’t change in their Tuesday evening clash with the Rossoblu.
Genoa have already been hard at work in the Coppa Italia this season, beating Modena 4-3 in the first round and Reggiana 2-1 in the second, but their campaign came to an abrupt end at the Stadio Olimpico.
Lazio started the match on the front foot and took a 1-0 lead after just five minutes, when a lovely run down the wing from Luca Pellegrini allowed him to cut the ball back across the penalty area to a charging Mateo Guendouzi, who perfectly slotted his shot in the bottom right corner.
The Biancocelesti maintained pressure throughout the first half, having a handful of chances from Valentin Castellanos, Felipe Anderson and Pedro, but they were unable to double their lead.
Genoa forayed forward a few times themselves, coming closest with a Mateo Retegui strike in the 18th minute, which sailed just over the crossbar.
Lazio started to take their foot off the gas in the second half, allowing Genoa to start growing into the match. Gilardino’s side again produced a few wayward chances, but none proved too troubling for Ivan Provedel, who only had to make two saves across the 90 minutes.
Maurizio Sarri’s side stayed focused and secured their 1-0 victory, taking them to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, where they’ll face the winner of Roma-Cremonese.
