Como hold their nerve to knock Napoli out of Coppa Italia on penalties

Como produced a brave display at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, holding Napoli to a 1-1 draw before prevailing in a tense penalty shootout to reach the Coppa Italia semi-finals.

Cesc Fàbregas’ side will now face Internazionale for a place in the final, while the other half of the draw sees Atalanta waiting to play either Bologna or Lazio.

Penalty drama decides encounter

From the outset, Como showed no fear. The visitors pressed strongly, with Nico Paz and Perrone catching the eye, and they went ahead in the first half when Baturina converted from the spot after Olivera had brought down Smolcic in the box.

Napoli responded early in the second half. Vergara, in fine form, capitalised on a deflection off Hojlund to slip past the defence and level the score. The remainder of normal time saw the Azzurri push forward, but despite several chances, neither side could find a winner, taking the tie to penalties.

In the shootout, tension ran high. Lukaku missed for Napoli, while Milinkovic kept Perrone’s effort out. The drama continued until Butez denied Lobotka, sealing Como’s dramatic passage to the semi-finals.