Bologna beats Atalanta on Castro's late goal to reach Cup semis for first time in 26 years

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BERGAMO, Italy (AP) — Santiago Castro had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Italian Cup semifinals for the first time in 26 years.

Bologna won 1-0 at last year’s runner-up Atalanta on Tuesday and will play either holder Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus hosts Empoli in their quarterfinal on Feb. 26.

The last time Bologna was in the semifinal was in 1999, when it lost 4-2 to Fiorentina.

There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo but it was Bologna that broke the deadlock, 10 minutes from time, when Castro escaped his marker at the far post to head in Charalampos Lykogiannis’ perfectly-weighted free kick.

The 20-year-old Argentinian had come off the bench less than two minutes earlier.

The cup exit continued a poor start to the new year for Atalanta, which has only beaten Sturm Graz and Como in its 10 matches since the beginning of 2025.

AC Milan hosts Roma in Wednesday’s quarterfinal, with Lazio playing at Inter Milan in the other, on Feb. 25.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer