We are now at the half-way stage of the Coppa Italia first round draw after the conclusion of eight fixtures on Friday and Saturday evenings, including a narrow victory on penalties for Antonio Conte’s Napoli and a surprise defeat from Hellas Verona.
Six Serie A sides have been in Coppa Italia action so far this weekend, namely Udinese, Genoa, Monza, Empoli, Napoli and Verona, but the latter have become the first top flight side to be eliminated from the competition this season.
Paolo Zannetti’s side were dealt a 2-1 defeat by Serie B’s Cesena, who only gained promotion from Serie C at the back end of last season. Verona were also the only home side who didn’t progress on Saturday night.
Elsewhere, Napoli were held to a 0-0 draw by Modena, but went on to inflict a 4-3 defeat on penalties after two smart saves from Alex Meret.
Click here to read more about Napoli’s meeting with Modena
Udinese enjoyed their test against Avellino, with four different names ending up on the scoresheet in Brenner, Florian Thauvin, Lorenzo Lucca and Keinan Davis.
Empoli also stuck four past lower league opposition in Catanzaro, but unlike Udinese, they were not able to keep a clean sheet. Genoa also enjoyed a routine 1-0 victory over Reggiana.
Like Napoli, Monza were also taken to penalties by Südtirol, and it took nine successful attempts before the Serie A side found the breakthrough.
Every Coppa Italia first round result so far:
Sassuolo 2-1 Cittadella
Udinese 4-0 Avellino
Genoa 1-0 Reggiana
Monza 0-0 Südtiriol (9-8 on penalties)
Cremonese 1-1 Bari (5-4 on penalties)
Verona 1-2 Cesena
Empoli 4-1 Catanzaro
Napoli 0-0 Modena (4-3 on penalties)