An injury-time goal by midfielder Massimo Ambrosini gave AC Milan a 2-1 win over AS Roma in an Italian Cup quarter-final first leg match on Wednesday.

Roma's Gaetano D'Agostino, left, and Daniele de Rossi, center, fight for the ball with Milan's Clarence Seedorf of the Netherlands, right, during the 'Italy Cup' Coppa Italia soccer match between Milan and Roma, in Milan, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2003. [AP]

It was the second time in eight days that the Cup holders had got the better of the Serie A leaders after their 2-1 league win at Rome's Olympic stadium last week.

Milan dominated the first half and home striker Marco Borriello and Ambrosini had both gone close before Danish team mate Jon Dahl Tomasson broke Roma's offside trap and slotted the ball past stranded keeper Andrea Zotti in the 39th minute.

Without injured captain Francesco Totti and suspended striker Antonio Cassano, the visitors lacked their usual sharpness up front, but the introduction of Brazilian winger Mancini shortly after the hour changed the balance of the game.

Roma seemed to have done enough for a draw when burly Norwegian striker John Carew equalised in the 78th minute, chesting down a long ball in the area before spinning and shooting past Milan keeper Dida.

But Milan regained the lead in the first minute of stoppage time when Zotti parried a Serginho cross into Ambrosini's path and the midfielder sidefooted the ball into an open net.

The result leaves Roma needing to build on their away goal in the return leg on January 22.

In an earlier quarter-final, Roberto Muzzi and Dejan Stankovic scored a goal in each half to give Lazio a comfortable 2-0 win over Parma.

TROUBLED PARMA

It was a disappointing result for financially troubled Parma who had got a little respite last Saturday from their woes with a 1-0 Serie A victory over Inter Milan.

Lazio coach Roberto Mancini's decision to field a full-strength team for the match at the Olympic Stadium paid off in the 36th minute when Muzzi outjumped defender Paolo Cannavaro to head home Fabio Liverani's precise cross.

The visitors came closest to equalising shortly after the interval when Lazio keeper Matteo Sereni pulled off a spectacular diving save to palm a long-range shot by midfielder Alessandro Rosina round the post.

But Parma could not keep up the pressure. Brazilian striker Adriano - playing his first match in more than two months after recovering from a hamstring injury - looked unusually sluggish in front of goal.

Stankovic sealed the result on the hour, firing home low after good work on the right by team mate Bernardo Corradi.

Argentine striker Claudio Lopez could have made it three for Lazio with 10 minutes remaining, but shot wide when one-on-one with Parma keeper Sebastien Frey.

On Thursday Perugia complete the quarter-finals first legs when they host Juventus.

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