AC Milan beat Cagliari to reach Italian Cup quarterfinals

MILAN: Luka Jovic scored two goals to help AC Milan beat Cagliari 4-1 in the Italian Cup on Tuesday and advance to the last-eight.

Milan has won the Italian Cup five times but it last lifted the trophy in 2003 and hasn’t reached the final since 2018. The Rossoneri will face either Atalanta or Sassuolo in the quarterfinals.

Milan coach Stefano Pioli was under pressure after a poor run that had seen his team eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage.

The Rossoneri also had a lengthy injury list and rested a number of star players, starting four teenagers in the match. Milan hadn’t lost to Cagliari at San Siro since 1997.

Jovic opened the scoring in the 29th minute following a delightful assist from Théo Hernandez and the duo combined again shortly before halftime.

The two goals took Jovic’s tally to five in his past six matches. It took the Serbia forward until December to score his first goal for Milan after joining from Fiorentina at the start of the season.

Teenager Chaka Traorè extended Milan’s lead early in the second half, with his third Rossoneri goal in his first start for the team.

Rafael Leão capped a great night for Milan in stoppage time, shortly after Paolo Azzi netted a consolation for Cagliari. Agencies

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