Football returned to Italy after 3 months, where Juventus met AC Milan at Turin in the second leg of the semifinal of Coppa Italia. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, but still, the Italian Serie A Champions qualified for the finals by virtue of away goals following their 1-1 draw in the first leg of the semi-final, played on February 13.
FT | ⏱ | WE'VE REACHED ROME!!! ? THE ⚪⚫ ARE IN THE FINAL!!! ✅#JuveMilan [0-0] #CoppaItalia #FinoAllaFine #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/m48tFZWOfI
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) June 12, 2020
It was a rather uninventive and dull affair where teams lacked the intent and Juve looked a bit rusty.
Prior to kick-off, a minute’s silence was held for those who died from COVID-19, before a round of applause for the nation’s health workers. Milan had warmed up in ‘Black Lives Matter’ shirts, while Juve sported tops saying ‘No to Racism’.
Juventus wear ‘no racism’ shirts and Milan wear Black Lives Matter shirts ahead of their Coppa Italia semi-final pic.twitter.com/OrQlxvULrq
— Faisal Caesar (@faisalyorker1) June 13, 2020
Ante Rebic was sent off for kicking Juve’s Danilo on his chest, forcing the AC Milan to play for more than 70 minutes with 10-men and the Rossoneri greatly missed the services of veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic who was out with a calf injury.
Always united ❤️#DistantiMaUniti #JuveMilan #CoppaItalia pic.twitter.com/0YIJbK2CkN
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) June 12, 2020
Milan had only one real chance of upsetting the 2-time Champions League winners when Hakan Calhanoglu was close with a diving header early in the second half, otherwise, 7-time Champions League winners rarely threatened to snatch the goal that would have taken them into the final.
Watching Juventus v Milan in the Coppa Italia and this is undoubtedly one of the maddest, most dramatic couple of minutes of football I’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/7ZSbx8JvsZ
— Sachin Nakrani (@SachinNakrani) June 12, 2020
Meanwhile, the best player in the world Cristiano Ronaldo missed a golden opportunity to score from the penalty spot and make the return a memorable one.
Juve were awarded a penalty after referee Daniele Orsato reviewed video footage and deemed that Andrea Conti handled the ball in the area.
Ronaldo fired his penalty towards the bottom left-hand corner but it hit the post and bounced clear.
That miss did not prove costly for Juve.
It was the second penalty Ronaldo missed in two seasons at the club.
1 – Cristiano Ronaldo misses his first penalty of the season after scoring eight consecutive for Juventus. pic.twitter.com/nHggrjIbfg
— UtdArena. (@utdarena) June 12, 2020
After the match, Juve coach Maurizio Sarri said, “I asked Ronaldo to take a more central role, he was pleased to try it out and he played the game he needed to at this moment”.
“He probably isn’t accustomed to missing a penalty, so hitting the inside of the post, it could go anywhere and he was unlucky”.
Coppa captures ??#JuveMilan #CoppaItalia #FinoAllaFine #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/RF8vPZbqd8
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) June 12, 2020
“I don’t think playing him a few meters more one way or another is going to make a huge difference to such a strong player. Everyone had a strong opening 30 minutes and then faded away.
“Clearly after three months, getting back to the touchline and seeing the teams out there is a good sensation, even if it’s not the same without the fans”.
Juventus are heading to another final ? pic.twitter.com/9mo8zRuIGx
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 12, 2020
“I was very surprised and satisfied with our opening 30 minutes, as we moved the ball so quickly and totally dominated the game, even before the red card”.
“After that, we slowly dropped our tempo, intensity, and mental determination, but that is a risk in an empty stadium. We had been doing so well, playing one and two-touch football, but then we slowed down and lost some sharpness, focused more on individual moves and taking two touches”.
Cristiano Ronaldo will return in the Serie A which would commence soon and it is expected, he would come out all guns blazing!