Approaching Extra Time

The referee's whistle signaled the end of regulation and the players drifted toward the touchline with hands on hips and sweat-soaked shirts clinging to their bodies, and the exhaustion was visible in every movement while breathing came hard and heavy after ninety minutes of relentless intensity.

Gasperini gathered them quickly near the bench area where water bottles were being distributed by staff members, and his instructions were brief and precise rather than emotional because tactical clarity mattered more than motivation at this stage.

"Same shape," he said while his hands gestured to reinforce the message. "Four-two-three-one continues. Koopmeiners and Éderson stay compact in the double pivot—no gaps between you and the back line."

His eyes found Demien specifically.

"Keep floating between their midfield and defensive lines," Gasperini continued, and his tone was instructional. "Receive on the turn when possible, force fouls if space closes. Make them commit."

He didn't raise his voice and he didn't single anyone else out for individual instructions because the team's organization was more important than heroics, and he finished with one sentence that captured everything.

"Manage the moments."

The squad nodded and began moving back toward the pitch while support staff collected empty water bottles, and the Olimpico's noise was building again as both sets of supporters prepared for thirty more minutes.

91' — 98'

Extra time began with Roma immediately trying to regain control through patient possession, and they circulated the ball across their back line and through midfield while looking for openings in Atalanta's compact defensive structure.

Atalanta looked calmer now than they had earlier in the match, and the confidence from the comeback had settled into their movements while they maintained discipline in their shape.

Demien immediately showed himself for the ball when Atalanta regained possession, and he dropped slightly deeper to escape his marker before receiving with space to turn forward, and his movement between the lines created problems for Roma's midfield who were hesitating about whether to step out and press him or hold their defensive positions.

"Walter looks remarkably comfortable for someone who hasn't played competitive football in three months," the lead commentator observed while watching Demien receive and turn smoothly under pressure. "His positioning between the lines is causing Roma's midfield constant problems—they can't decide whether to step up or sit deeper."

"And notice how he's using his body," his colleague added. "He's not forcing dribbles or trying spectacular passes—just receiving, shielding, turning when space allows, drawing fouls when it doesn't. That's intelligent play from a young midfielder who understands the situation."

The pattern continued through the opening minutes of extra time with both teams probing for weaknesses without committing too many numbers forward, and the fatigue was becoming evident in slightly slower passes and heavier legs.

98'

The breakthrough came in the ninety-eighth minute and started from a throw-in Atalanta won high on the right side near Roma's defensive third, and the ball was thrown inside to a midfielder who worked it patiently rather than forcing a cross immediately.

The midfielder played it centrally where Demien had positioned himself between Roma's lines with his back to goal, and he received with a defender pressing tightly from behind while another was closing from the side.

Demien executed a sharp half-turn using his 91 Agility and 83 Ball Control—pivoting on his left foot while dragging the ball with his right in one smooth motion that created separation from the defender behind him—and the movement opened a passing lane into the channel on the right where space had appeared.

His pass came immediately with his right foot—weighted perfectly into the space rather than to feet—and Atalanta's winger collected it in stride before driving toward the byline, and the ball was worked wide again as Roma's defensive shape adjusted.

The cross came early from the byline—driven low and hard toward the near post where bodies were converging—and Alessandro Moretti, the young defender making his senior debut after being promoted from Atalanta's youth side, attacked the near space aggressively.

Moretti had timed his run perfectly from the back post and arrived ahead of his marker, and his header was powerful and directed downward toward the near corner where Roma's goalkeeper was still adjusting his positioning.

The ball crashed into the side netting before the keeper could react.

ATALANTA 4-3 ROMA

The away section of the Olimpico exploded with noise while Atalanta's bench erupted in celebration, and Moretti was immediately swarmed by teammates who mobbed him near the corner flag while his face showed pure disbelief mixed with euphoria.

Demien was among the first to reach him and he grabbed the young defender's head with both hands while shouting "FIRST GOAL! FUCKING BRILLIANT!" and his face showed genuine happiness for the debutant, and other players were piling on while screaming encouragement.

Koopmeiners had his arms wrapped around Moretti from behind lifting him slightly off the ground, and Højlund was slapping his back repeatedly while yelling "WHAT A HEADER! WHAT A HEADER!" and the celebration continued for several seconds before the referee gestured for them to return to their half.

Roma's players stood stunned across the pitch—some gesturing at each other about defensive assignments, others staring at the turf with hands on hips—and their body language showed the weight of conceding another lead after fighting back to level at three-all.

Gasperini was celebrating on the touchline with both fists raised before immediately shouting tactical instructions for his team to stay compact, and his assistant coaches were embracing each other while staff members on the bench were jumping and hugging.

"Alessandro Moretti!" the lead commentator's voice carried excitement. "The young defender making his senior debut scores in extra time of a Coppa Italia quarterfinal! What courage to attack that space in the ninety-eighth minute!"

"Promoted from the youth side just weeks ago," his colleague added, "and now he's the hero in Rome. That's the beauty of cup football—moments like this that define careers."

The replays showed the sequence clearly—Demien's half-turn under pressure creating the initial space, his pass splitting the defense, the cross driven with urgency, Moretti's perfectly timed run arriving ahead of his marker, the powerful header beating the goalkeeper.

102'

Roma responded with desperate urgency and pushed numbers forward immediately, and they fed their wide players while forcing Atalanta deeper into their own half through sustained pressure.

Just before the interval in extra time, Roma won a corner on the left side and the delivery was floated into the penalty area where bodies converged, and Atalanta's defender headed clear but only as far as the edge of the box.

A Roma midfielder collected the loose ball and struck immediately through traffic without taking a touch to control, and his shot was powerful but the trajectory was slightly altered by a deflection off an Atalanta player's leg

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