Lazio 2-0 Roma: Controversial Coppa Italia semi-final first leg

Lazio won a controversial Rome derby in the Coppa Italia by beating bitter rivals Roma 2-0 in the first leg of the semi-final on Wednesday evening.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ciro Immobile scored in each half but the victory was tarnished by racist chanting and a boycott by Roma's fans, which meant much of the Stadio Olimpico was empty.

The two sides meet again in the second leg at the start of April to decide who faces Napoli or Juventus in the final.

Lazio went ahead after 30 minutes when Felipe Anderson made a break on the right and pulled the ball back for Milinkovic-Savic to fire into the roof of the net.

The second came in the 77th minute when Keita Balde Diao got away from his marker on the right and slipped the ball to Immobile to score from close range.

However, the evening was marred as Roma defender Anthony Rudiger was repeatedly subjected to racist chanting from Lazio fans during the first half, prompting the stadium announcer to warn that the match would be interrupted if it continued.

The Stadio Olimpico is shared by both teams. but many Roma fans refused to attend due to protests at partitions which have been built, even though authorities had lowered them as a compromise measure.

The victory marks a first win in eight for Lazio against their local rivals.

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