Young GK’s penalty heroics
- Lazio goalkeeper Edoardo Motta saved four penalties to send his team into the Italian Cup final. (x.com) - The saves came against shooters Scamacca, Zappacosta, Pašalić, and De Ketelaere in the shootout. (x.com) - That performance clinched Lazio’s spot in the final and immediately went viral as a standout Cup moment. (x.com)
Edoardo Motta sent Lazio into the Coppa Italia final on April 22 by saving four Atalanta penalties in Bergamo. (legaseriea.it) (ansa.it) The semifinal second leg finished 1-1 after 120 minutes, with Alessio Romagnoli putting Lazio ahead in the 85th minute and Mario Pašalić equalizing two minutes later. The first leg in Rome had ended 2-2 on March 4. (tg24.sky.it) (gazzetta.it) In the shootout, Motta stopped Gianluca Scamacca, Davide Zappacosta, Pašalić and Charles De Ketelaere after conceding the first kick to Giacomo Raspadori. Lazio still went through because Carnesecchi saved Nuno Tavares’s attempt and Danilo Cataldi hit the post, but Gustav Isaksen and Taylor converted. (ansa.it) (tg24.sky.it) Motta’s night was bigger than the shootout alone. ANSA reported that the 2005-born goalkeeper had already pushed Scamacca’s extra-time chance onto the crossbar before the penalties began. (ansa.it) The result sends Lazio to its 11th Coppa Italia final, according to ANSA, and sets up a May 13 final against Inter at the Stadio Olimpico. Rai and Sky both listed Inter as the other finalist after the first semifinal. (ansa.it) (rainews.it) That cup run has taken on extra weight because Lazio is ninth in Serie A with 47 points from 33 matches on the league’s official table. The domestic cup is now the club’s clearest route to a trophy in Maurizio Sarri’s first season back on the bench. (legaseriea.it) (corrieredellosport.it) Motta only arrived recently. Lazio’s official YouTube channel posted his first interview in blue and white last month, and Quotidiano Sportivo reported that he turned 21 on January 13. (youtube.com) (sport.quotidiano.net) The match itself swung on tiny margins. Sky and ANSA reported that Atalanta had two goals ruled out, one by Ederson in regulation and another by Raspadori in extra time after a video review. (tg24.sky.it) (ansa.it) By the end, the semifinal was reduced to five kicks each and one young goalkeeper reading almost every one of them right. Lazio left Bergamo with a 4-2 shootout win and a place in Rome on May 13. (rainews.it) (legaseriea.it)
