Mandragora stunner helps Fiorentina beat Atalanta 1-0 in 1st leg of Italian Cup semifinal
FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Rolando Mandragora scored a stunning goal to help Fiorentina beat Atalanta 1-0 in the first leg of their Italian Cup semifinal on Wednesday and leave his team on course to reach a second straight final.
The second leg will be played in Bergamo on April 24. Juventus beat Lazio 2-0 on Tuesday in the first leg of the other semifinal.
The match in Florence pitted two teams that have come close to the trophy in recent years. Fiorentina lost the final to Inter Milan last season and Atalanta was defeated in the trophy match in 2019 and 2021 — by Lazio and Juventus respectively.
Fiorentina last won the Italian Cup in 2001, while Atalanta hasn’t lifted it since 1963.
It was expected to be a balanced match but Fiorentina dominated from the start and took the lead in impressive fashion in the 31st minute when Mandragora unleashed a magnificent strike from 30 yards out that went into the top left corner off the inside of the post.
Atalanta had been pinned back into its own half for most of the first half and made a double change after the break.
The visitors had several decent opportunities to level matters but also had goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi to thank for keeping them in the semifinal — notably with a spectacular, flying save to fingertip away a looping header from Nicolás González.
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