Atalanta dominant again with 6-1 win over Cesena in Italian Cup, Roma routs Sampdoria

MILAN (AP) — Serie A leader Atalanta continued its domination of domestic soccer this season with another hefty victory in the Italian Cup albeit against second-division Cesena.

Charles De Ketelaere and Lazar Samardzic both scored twice as Atalanta cruised to a 6-1 win to book a place in the quarterfinals against Bologna.

Roma also eased through against lower-league opposition, beating Sampdoria 4-1 to secure a last-eight match against AC Milan.

The quarterfinals will be played in February.

Fresh from a club record 10th straight league victory, Atalanta — which lost the cup final to Juventus last year — showed no signs of easing up, even against lower league opposition.

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini opted for a surprisingly strong starting lineup and Atalanta was 2-0 up in less than 10 minutes and 4-0 up by halftime following goals by Davide Zappacosta, De Ketelaere’s double and Samardzic’s first.

Marco Brescianini added a fifth early in the second half and Atalanta finally eased off the gas, although Samardzic doubled his tally in the 71st.

Substitute Joseph Ceesay netted a consolation goal in the final minute for Cesena.

Ranieri beats former club

Roma coach Claudio Ranieri steered his side to a morale-boosting victory over one of his many former clubs and avoided a potential upset against Sampdoria, which had already knocked out two Serie A teams.

Roma had lost in the league 2-0 at Como, which was one of the top-flight teams Samp had beaten on its cup run — the other being city rival Genoa.

However, an early double from Artem Dovbyk and a delightful solo effort from Tommaso Baldanzi had Roma 3-0 up inside 25 minutes.

Gerard Yepes pulled one back for Samp in the 61st but Roma restored its three-goal advantage through substitute Eldor Shomurodov, moments after he replaced Dovbyk.

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