JUVENTUS IN THE COPPA ITALIA FINAL AFTER BEATING FIORENTINA 2-0 AT ALLIANZ STADIUM.
Juventus will have the chance to retain their Coppa Italia crown after they beat Fiorentina 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium. The 3-0 aggregate victory ensures Massimiliano Allegri will lead the ‘Bianconeri’ in a Coppa Italia final for the fifth time as head coach.
Looking to build upon their 1-0 lead from the first leg, Juventus started on the front foot, with former Fiorentina man Dušan Vlahović forcing Bartłomiej Drągowski into action in the 13th minute. The hosts continued to push forward, with the vociferous home support urging them on, and just before the half-hour mark, Vlahović had another chance to open the scoring, but once again he was unable to beat Drągowski with the Fiorentina goalkeeper equal to the Serbian’s chipped effort.
Drągowski, however, undid all his good work in the 32nd minute, when he failed to deal with an Álvaro Morata cross, which presented Federico Bernardeschi with the chance to open the scoring with an exquisite looping volley from inside the box. Bernardeschi’s second goal of the season ensured Juventus went down the tunnel with a two-goal aggregate lead, despite Arthur Cabral drawing a fine stop out of Mattia Perin moments before HT.
The visitors returned from the HT break fully aware that they needed to pull off a monumental turnaround if they were to appear in the Coppa Italia final for the first time since 2014. Lucas Martínez Quarta had the first chance of the second half for ‘La Viola’, but his deflected header was pushed away by the out-stretched Perin.
Juventus, meanwhile, continued to search for a second, and though Adrien Rabiot saw his effort ruled out for offside in the 69th minute, the ‘‘Bianconeri’ finally found another goal in stoppage time, when Danilo swept home from Juan Cuadrado’s precise cut-back.
Not only did Juventus book their place in the final, they also extended their impressive unbeaten home run in the Coppa Italia to 20 matches.
