Cup joy for Juve as Reds, Barca crash out

ROME: Juventus’ 3-0 win over Napoli qualified the Bianconeri for the Italian Cup quarterfinals and helped coach Ciro Ferrara hold onto his job on a day when Barcelona exited its first competition under coach Pep Guardiola when the defending champions dropped out of the Copa del Rey and Liverpool were eliminated from the FA Cup.

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.

A cross from Hasan Salihamidzic set up Diego’s goal before 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.

Elsewhere, Barcelona were eliminated from the Copa del Rey inspite of beating Sevilla 1-0. Sevilla advanced to the quarter-finals of the domestic cup on away goals after the two-leg series ended 2-2.

Barcelona’s unrelenting second-half pressure paid off in the 64th minute as Xavi Hernandez chested down Ndri Romaric’s weak clearance outside the area to curl a shot through a crowd and past the outstretched Andres Palop.

Barcelona had won every competition it had competed in since Guardiola’s arrival before the start of the 2008-09 season, lifting an unprecedented six major trophies along the way.

“It’s not a problem,” said Guardiola, who fielded a full-strength lineup.

“There are few things I can say to the team. We tried to come back, we played a great second half. We just have to recover going forward.”

Sevilla will play Deportivo La Coruna after the Galician club scored twice in the second half to draw 2-2 against Valencia and advance 4-3 on aggregate.

Third-tier Alcorcon, which knocked Real Madrid out in the last round, couldn’t maintain its good run as it drew 0-0 at Racing Santander to lose 3-2 on aggregate.

Racing will play Osasuna after Masoud Soleimani’s impressive 49th-minute strike gave Osasuna a 1-0 win over second-division leaders Hercules, which dropped out on away goals after the teams finished tied 2-2 overall while Roberto Soldado scored twice as Getafe routed Malaga 5-1 to easily advance 6-3.

Over in England, Liverpool’s troubled season took another turn for the worse when it was eliminated from the FA Cup on Wednesday night with a 2-1 loss to second-tier Reading in their third-round replay.

Steven Gerrard’s deflected shot off defender Ryan Bertrand put the Reds ahead in first-half stoppage time, but Reading tied the score in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time when Yossi Benayoun fouled Shane Long in the penalty area, and Gylfi Sigurdsson converted the penalty kick.

Reading, which had never won at Anfield, went ahead Long scored from six yards in the 100th minute.

Liverpool forward Fernando Torres left in the 29th minute because of a twisted knee inside the first 30 minutes and Gerrard departed at halftime with what was thought to be a strained hamstring.

The only trophy Liverpool realistically can win is the Europa League. Manager Rafa Benitez’s team already has been eliminated from the European Champions League and the English League Cup, and it is seventh in the Premier League at 10-7-3, in danger of missing next season’s Champions League.

“We have to think about the future,” a downbeat Benitez said after losing to a club with a 5-11-8 League Championship record, one place above the relegation zone. “We will try to do our best.”

Reading plays Burnley in the fourth round fixture.

In Wednesday’s other third-round replay, Newcastle beat Plymouth 3-0 and will go to West Bromwich Albion on January 23. Peter Lovenkrands scored three goals for the Magpies, who extended their unbeaten streak to 13 games.