ROME, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Fiorentina thrashed Roma 7-1 to advance to the Italian Cup semifinals at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence on Wednesday.
Fiorentina striker Federico Chiesa, 21, scored a hat trick with two goals within the first 18 minutes and a third goal in the second half. Giovanni Simeone scored twice as Luis Muriel and Marco Benassi scored one goal each.
Roma forward Aleksandar Kolarov scored once at the 28th minute but the team never rallied. Striker Edin Djeko was expelled after spitting in the referee's face, adding to Roma's woes.
"I'm happy because Fiorentina is playing a good game, we're fighting, because that is what Fiorentina is - 90 minutes of struggle," an overjoyed Chiesa told RAI public broadcaster after the match.
Also on Wednesday, Atalanta advanced to face Fiorentina in the semifinal after beating Juventus 3-0 with two goals by Duvan Zapata and one by Timothy Castagne at Bergamo's Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium.
"It was a beautiful feeling and it wasn't easy, it was very important for us to reach the semifinals," Zapata told RAI after his double score, sealing a historic victory for his team: the last time Atalanta beat Juventus was in 2004, according to RAI.
The Italian Cup continues Thursday as Inter face Lazio. The winning side will face Milan, who beat Napoli 2-0 on Tuesday.
