Sampdoria vs. AC Milan: Winners and Losers from Coppa Italia
AC Milan advanced to the final eight of the Coppa Italia on Thursday with a 2-0 victory over Sampdoria at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
After a nice back-and-forth between the clubs in the first 10 minutes, Milan began to take over the contest, but they couldn't find the back of the net in the first half.
M'Baye Niang opened the scoring in the 50th minute as he finished off a Carlos Bacca pass from the right side of the box. Bacca added a strike of his own in the third minute of second-half stoppage time to secure the win for the visiting side.
The victory helped Milan become the final side to move on to the quarterfinal round of the tournament. They join Inter Milan, Lazio, Juventus, Napoli, Carpi, Spezia and Alessandria in the last eight.
Here's a look at our winners and losers from Milan's road triumph in the Coppa Italia.
Winner: M'Baye Niang
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M'Baye Niang was active in the final third from the first minute on, and he was finally rewarded for the relentless action in the 50th minute.
Niang linked onto a pass from Carlos Bacca and sent the first Milan strike of the match into the bottom-left part of the net past Emiliano Viviano.
After he put Milan in the lead, Niang continued his push for a second tally. He came close to earning an assist in the 84th minute, but his pass from the left wing barely missed a sliding Bacca.
In two games against Sampdoria this season, Niang has three goals and one assist. He had a breakout performance in the league contest in Genoa on November 28.
Loser: Ervin Zukanovic
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Ervin Zukanovic was a pain in the side of the Milan attack for 64 minutes, but then he lost his cool and handed the visitors a welcome advantage.
Zukanovic, who stepped in the way of a few shots during his time on the pitch, was sent off in the 64th minute following successive yellow cards.
The Sampdoria defender picked up his first caution for a foul on Juraj Kucka just outside of the box. Instead of accepting it and moving along with his day, Zukanovic decided to get in the referee's face and complain about the decision.
Zukanovic's rant to the referee cost him as he earned a second yellow for dissent not even a minute after his tackle on Kucka. The sending off of the center-back took all the life out of Sampdoria, who needed a win to right a rough season.
Winner: Carlos Bacca
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After 92 minutes of hard work in the Milan attack, Carlos Bacca finally found the back of the net.
The Colombian combined well with Niang for the majority of the match. The best link-up play between the two attackers came on Niang's opener as Bacca slotted a pass from outside the box onto the feet of the forward.
Bacca secured a spot in the quarterfinals for Milan in the 93rd minute as he cut around a pair of defenders with a nice move before he beat Viviano with a shot that went into the right-hand side of the net.
If Bacca and Niang continue to work well together for Milan when they are paired with each other, the Rossoneri will be in contention for the domestic cup crown and a top-five finish in Serie A.
Loser: Luis Muriel
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It's easy to feel bad for Luis Muriel after watching him play for 77 minutes on Thursday.
The 24-year-old Colombian worked hard to find space in the final third against a strong Milan defense, but he received little support from forward partner Federico Bonazzoli.
Muriel's two best chances of the match came in the 40th and 52nd minute. At the back end of the first half, Muriel forced Christian Abbiati into a diving save near the right post.
Two minutes after Milan opened the scoring, the Sampdoria striker came close to equalizing the match as he ran free into the box off a Philippe Mexes turnover. However, the Milan back four intervened before Muriel could get a clean shot on goal.
With no championship to play for outside of the league now, Muriel and his teammates must shift their full focus to staying away from the relegation zone in Serie A. Sampdoria currently sit in 16th place with 17 points.
Winner: Christian Abbiati
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In his second Coppa Italia start of the season, Christian Abbiati made a few key saves to keep Sampdoria off the scoreboard late in the first half.
The 38-year-old netminder stopped Muriel in the 40th minute with a diving save, and he denied Carlos Carbonero three minutes later to keep the game level at 0-0 heading into halftime.
Abbiati came up big one more time in the second half as he stopped an attempt from substitute Antonio Cassano at the right post.
Thanks to his solid day in net, Abbiati did enough to convince manager Sinisa Mihajlovic he deserves another start in the club's next match of the competition.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
