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Lazio secured their place in the Coppa Italia final in the most dramatic fashion possible on Tuesday evening, as goalkeeper Edoardo Motta produced a goalkeeping masterclass to deny Atalanta in Bergamo. In a match defined by late drama, disallowed goals, and nerves of steel, the Biancocelesti triumphed 2-1 on penalties after the tie ended 3-3 [\u2026]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Lazio secured their place in the Coppa Italia final in the most dramatic fashion possible on Tuesday evening, as goalkeeper Edoardo Motta produced a goalkeeping masterclass to deny Atalanta in Bergamo.<\/p>\n
In a match defined by late drama, disallowed goals, and nerves of steel, the Biancocelesti<\/i> triumphed 2-1 on penalties after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate.<\/p>\nA Night of High Drama and VAR Controversy<\/h2>\n
The second leg of this semi-final clash lived up to the billing, providing a rollercoaster of emotions.<\/p>\n
For long periods, it looked as though Atalanta would be the side heading to Rome.<\/p>\n
Gian Piero Gasperini\u2019s men were arguably the better side throughout the 120 minutes, yet they found themselves thwarted by the inspired form of Motta and several VAR interventions.<\/p>\n
Atalanta\u2019s frustrations began in the 61st minute when Ederson\u2019s opener was ruled out for a foul on Motta.<\/p>\n
Later, in the 86th minute, Alessio Romagnoli appeared to have won it for Lazio with a clinical volley, only for Mario Pasalic to equalise seconds later via a deflection.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Sport Mediaset<\/i> after the game, Maurizio Sarri acknowledged the difficulty of the encounter:<\/p>\n \u201cTonight\u2019s game was extremely complicated, a knockout tie against a strong side in a stadium that is tough to play in for most European teams. This has been a great journey for us\u2026 we achieved this satisfaction of reaching the Final.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n While the outfield players battled to a stalemate, the post-match headlines belonged to Edoardo Motta.<\/p>\n The 21-year-old, who stepped in following Ivan Provedel\u2019s injury, saved four consecutive penalties in the shootout.<\/p>\n Sarri was full of praise for his young shot-stopper, highlighting his incredible record since joining the club:<\/p>\n \u201cHe is amazing on penalties, he saved four out of five in the shoot-out, plus one in Serie A against Bologna, so that\u2019s five out of six in the Lazio shirt. Motta has margin for improvement, especially playing the ball with his feet, but he has important prospects.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Motta\u2019s heroics weren\u2019t limited to the shootout; a vital fingertip save onto the post from a Gianluca Scamacca header in regulation time was ultimately what allowed Lazio to reach penalties in the first place.<\/p>\n \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83d\udd35 EL SHOW DE EDOARDO MOTTA ANTE ATALANTA<\/p>\n LOS 4 PENALTIS ATAJADOS EN LA MISMA TANDA PARA METER A LA LAZIO EN LA FINAL DE LA COPPA ITALIA \ud83d\udd25pic.twitter.com\/71siE9Zhmo<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n\n
Maurizio Sarri Praises \u2018Amazing\u2019 Edoardo Motta<\/h2>\n
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