Roma were thrashed 7-1 at Fiorentina and had forward Edin Dzeko sent off after apparently spitting at the referee, while the defending champions Juventus also lost in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Federico Chiesa scored his first career hat-trick as Fiorentina raced into a 4-1 lead before Dzeko was shown a straight red card in the 72nd minute after arguing with referee Gianluca Manganiello and then appearing to spit at him. The Bosnian could face a lengthy ban if Manganiello confirms he was spat at in his official match report.
There was still time for substitute Giovanni Simeone to score twice, meaning it was the first time Roma had conceded six goals or more in an Italian Cup match since May 1961, also against Fiorentina. However, Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco said he will not resign. “In my head there is never that thought,” he said.
Atalanta are also into the semi-finals after they surprised Serie A leaders Juventus with a 3-0 win, with in-form striker Duván Zapata scoring twice.
Both teams lost key players to injury in the 27th minute, as Josip Ilicic and Giorgio Chiellini limped off. Ten minutes later Chiellini’s replacement, João Cancelo, was caught in possession by Timothy Castagne, who sprinted forward and smashed the ball into the bottom corner to give Atalanta the lead.
Zapata doubled Atalanta’s lead two minutes later with his 16th goal in his past 10 games, before Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was sent to the stands for dissent after throwing his coat to the floor in anger. The Bianconeri tried to fight back after the break but couldn’t find a way past a determined Atalanta defence, and Zapata sealed the result with his second of the match four minutes from time.
Coppa Italia quarter-finals
Milan 2-0 Napoli
Fiorentina 7-1 Roma
Atalanta 3-0 Juventus
Thursday: Internazionale v Lazio
Copa del Rey quarter-finals
Valencia 3-1 Getafe (agg 3-1)
Real Betis 3-1 Espanyol (agg 4-2)
Barcelona 6-1 Sevilla (agg 6-3)
Thursday: Girona v Real Madrid (first leg: 2-4)
Coupe de la Ligue semi-finals
Guingamp 2-2 Monaco (5-4 on pens)
Strasbourg 3-2 Bordeaux [pictured]
Meanwhile, Barcelona overturned a two-goal first-leg deficit to put six past Sevilla and move into the Copa del Rey semi-finals. Philippe Coutinho scored twice with Sergi Roberto, Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suárez also on target before a superb team goal was finished off by Lionel Messi to round off the 6-1 rout.