ROME, 13 January 2005 — Fiorentina became the first team to qualify for the Italian Cup quarterfinals, beating Parma 3-0 in their third round, second leg match yesterday and advancing on a 5-0 aggregate score.

Substitute striker Enrico Fantini scored the opening goal in the 54th minute at Parma Tardini stadium, tapping in a rebound off a save by goalkeeper Gianluca Berti.

Midfielder Enzo Maresca made it 2-0 with a spectacular lob from outside the area in the 70th that caught Berti out of position.

Defender Christian Maggio netted the third goal 10 minutes later off a deflected pass by Javier Portillo. Parma, which is next to last in the Serie A standings, fielded several reserve players to spare its stars for Sunday’s league match against Lecce.

On Thursday, defending champion Lazio takes on Cagliari, Udinese plays Lecce, AS Roma is at Siena and Juventus hosts Atalanta.

Gerrard Gives Liverpool Slim League Cup Lead

In London, Steven Gerrard’s second-half goal gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over second division Watford in the first leg of their League Cup semifinal at Anfield on Tuesday.

The England midfielder struck after 56 minutes, finishing a flowing move with a firm goalbound shot from just inside the area that Watford defender Neil Cox could only head into his own net.

Liverpool, record seven-time League Cup winners, struggled in the first half but improved after the interval following the introduction of Czech striker Milan Baros as a substitute.

“Watford deserve a lot of credit because they came here tonight and made it a real battle,” Gerrard told Sky Sports.

“The manager told us we under-estimated them in the first half but we came out and passed it a bit quicker and worked a bit harder.”

Watford, 16th in the second division, competed well in the early stages, threatening to open the scoring after 18 minutes when Brynjar Gunnarsson’s powerful header was blocked by goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.

The Premier League side showed more urgency after halftime, however, Gerrard firing a shot just over the crossbar and Neil Mellor forcing a good save out of Watford goalkeeper Paul Jones before Gerrard broke the deadlock.Watford continued to press forward after falling behind.

and striker Heidar Helguson was only denied by a last-ditch challenge from defender Djimi Traore in the dying minutes.

“It’s a great result for us but it could have been better,” Watford manager Ray Lewington said. “We have done tremendously well, worked hard and disrupted them. We were always in the match and have everything to play for.”

Gerrard said Liverpool, who host Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday, would have to improve against Watford at Vicarage Road in two weeks.

“We need to be a lot better than that in the second leg,” Gerrard said.

Chelsea play Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the second semi-final on Wednesday. The final is at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on February 27.