A late goal from substitute Senad Lulic gave SS Lazio a 1-0 victory over SSC Napoli on Wednesday and a place in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus.
Lazio advanced 2-1 on aggregate and are to seek their third title in the past seven years in the June 7 final at their home stadium.
In the 79th minute, Lulic was left unmarked to steer home a cross from Felipe Anderson from inside the area.
Napoli argued in vain that Lazio forward Miroslav Klose was offside at the start of the move.
Lazio are also performing well in Serie A, where they have won seven straight matches and are challenging city rivals AS Roma for second place.
“Juventus is definitely the strongest squad in Italy, but if we keep playing like this it will be a match,” Lulic said.
For Napoli, it was another disappointing result after a poor run in the league that has seen the southern club drop to sixth place and out of the Champions and Europa League spots.
SERIE A
Earlier, last-placed Parma beat Udinese 1-0 in a Serie A match that was postponed from February, when crisis-hit Parma were unable to provide basic stadium services like lighting and security.
Silvestre Varela scored in the 70th minute with a long-range shot that appeared to be an attempt at a cross, surprising Udinese goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis.
The victory marks a brief sequence of good results for Parma, who held Inter to a 1-1 draw at the San Siro on Saturday.
The closest either side came to scoring in the first half at the San Paolo Stadium came when Napoli’s Manolo Gabbiadini hit the post with a free-kick in the 29th.
On the hour mark, Klose argued for a penalty following contact in the area and then Gonzalo Higuain wasted a chance at the other end when he could not get a shot off with only the goalkeeper to beat.
In the 76th, Napoli goalkeeper Mariano Andujar did well to save a header from Lulic.
Soon after, Napoli captain Marek Hamsik sent a shot just wide.
Anderson, the Brazil midfielder who has developed into Lazio’s most dangerous player, then burst past several defenders before providing the cross for Lulic’s goal.
Lulic, a Bosnia international, preserved the lead when he cleared a shot from Lorenzo Insigne off the line in the 88th.
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