Juventus' 3-0 win over Napoli qualified the Bianconeri for the
Italian Cup quarterfinals and helped coach Ciro Ferrara hold onto
his job on Wednesday.
Diego put Juve in front in the 24th minute at Stadio Olimpico
in Turin, captain Alessandro Del Piero found the target in the 77th
and added a penalty in the 82nd following a foul on Diego.
Ferrara was under pressure after three losses in Juve's last
four Serie A games, a run that followed the team's elimination from
the Champions League.
Ferrara called the win "very, very important for all of us."
"We played with humility and determination and we deserved to
win," Ferrara said. "I'm very happy, most of all for the lads."
Juventus will next face Inter Milan, which advanced with a
1-0 win over Livorno last month.
AC Milan needed a late goal from midfielder Mathieu Flamini
to beat third-division Novara 2-1.
Filippo Inzaghi put Milan ahead in the 12th minute at San
Siro. Novara forward Pablo Andres Gonzalez equalized in the 47th
before Flamini scored the winner in the 81st with a shot from the
edge of the area.
Also, Gianvito Plasmati scored twice early as Catania
eliminated nine-man Genoa 2-1.
While Napoli started with standouts Marek Hamsik and Fabio
Quagliarella on the bench, Juventus began at full strength with
Diego positioned behind Del Piero and Amauri.
A cross from Hasan Salihamidzic set up Diego's goal and Diego
nearly made it 2-0 in the 65th when he hit the post.
Hamsik went on in the 60th and hit the crossbar 12 minutes
later for Napoli's best chance.
Del Piero made it 2-0 following a cross from Jose Caceres and
Napoli defender Matteo Contini was shown his second yellow card for
the foul on Diego that set up Del Piero's penalty, leaving the
visitors with 10 men for the final minutes.
Having missed much of this season due to injury, Del Piero
hadn't scored since May, when he notched two goals in Ferrara's
first match in charge.
Juventus fans again sang racist slurs directed at Inter
forward Mario Balotelli, continuing despite a plea made over the
stadium's public address system asking them to stop.
Milan fielded mostly reserves, with the likes of Ronaldinho,
Andrea Pirlo and David Beckham not even included in the squad.
About 10,000 fans from Novara, a small city in the Piedmont
region, made the trip to cheer on their club, while only 5,000
Milan fans showed up.
"It's strange to play in the San Siro with the crowd cheering
almost entirely for the opponents," Milan coach Leonardo said.
Milan will next face Udinese or third-division Lumezzane,
which play on Thursday.
In Genoa, Plasmati scored in the fourth and seventh minutes.
Genoa midfielder Marco Rossi sliced the lead in half in the 58th,
but he and defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos were both sent off a
minute later.
Papastathopoulos picked up his second yellow card and Rossi
was given a direct red for protests.
Catania will next meet AS Roma, which beat Serie B side
Triestina 3-1 on Tuesday.
In Thursday's other games, it's Fiorentina vs. Chievo Verona
and defending champion Lazio vs. Palermo.
