“Pazza” Inter showcased another sample of their madness and unpredictability at the San Siro on Tuesday night as they let Juventus come from behind and record a 1-2 win in the first leg of the Coppa Italia Semi Final.
In one week, Inter will recover Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi but they will need some sort of a miracle to beat the Bianconeri with a two-goal margin to book a place into the last act of the domestic cup.
Inter took an early lead with Lautaro Martinez, but two colossal defensive blunders from Ashley Young and the duo Alessandro Bastoni – Samir Handanovic enabled Cristiano Ronaldo to bag a brace and make Andrea Pirlo smile, as the Bianconeri avenged their Serie A loss from two weeks ago.
Juventus and Pirlo meant business tonight. So far, the Old Lady had managed to advance until the last four of the Coppa Italia largely resorting to their U-23 players. But for the second Derby d’Italia of the season, they deployed one the best lineups that they could – with a youngster named Gianluigi Buffon between the sticks, and Dejan Kulusevski to partner with Cristiano Ronaldo on the front line.
Inter were also in full forces, except for the unavailable Hakimi and Lukaku, who were replaced by their natural substitutes Matteo Darmian and Alexis Sanchez.
The Chilean striker, in particular, played a big part in Inter’s opener after nine minutes, as he protected the ball into the Bianconeri‘s defensive third before releasing Nicolò Barella on the right side. The Sardinian midfielder bested Alex Sandro and served Lautaro in the box, with the Argentine ready to anticipate Matthijs De Ligt and put the ball past Buffon.
Too bad that the Nerazzurri dilapidated their lead in the space of 10 minutes as they conceded Cristiano Ronaldo two easy chances to make it to the scoresheet. Just like he needed that.
On 25 minutes, Ashley Young held Cuadrado’s arm in the box as the Colombian vainly tried to go for a Federico Bernardeschi cross that was totally out of reach. Had the Englishman done nothing, the ball would have simply gone past the end line. Instead, referee Gianpaolo Calvarese checked the VAR and awarded a penalty to the Bianconeri. CR7 made no mistake from the spot with a perfect conversion.
But the worst was yet to come. Ten minutes later, Alessandro Bastoni felt pressured by Ronaldo in his defensive third. He seemed to be calling for Handanovic to help him, but as the goalkeeper recklessly left the posts, he rather decided to sweep the ball away – only for Ronaldo to snatch it out of his feet and clinically slotting it into the untended goal.
Juventus’ one-two mentally crushed Inter and the Nerazzurri disappeared from the game for the remainder of the first half. Pirlo’s men were now in control of the game, though Inter eventually managed to make them dangerous again in the second period.
Arturo Vidal went close to draw level for the home side and it took a superb clearance from Merih Demiral right on the goal line to keep the score at 1-2. The Turkish center-back – whom Pirlo preferred to Leonardo Bonucci tonight – celebrated like he had just won a Champions League.
On 69 minutes, Buffon showed he still has great reactivity despite his 43 years of age as he denied Matteo Darmian in a one-on-one situation. After Lautaro’s right-foot shot ended just a few inches away from the goal target, Barella went for a spectacular overhead kick that also failed to hit the target.
But despite Inter’s pressure, the Bianconeri were able to defend their lead quite comfortably, putting one foot and a half into the Coppa Italia Final. The Derby d’Italia from two weeks ago seems to be a pale memory as Juventus tallied their fourth consecutive win.
One week from now at the Allianz Stadium, they will know if they’ll get another shot at the Coppa Italia, one year after losing the last domestic cup Final to Napoli.
MATCH REPORT
February 2, 2021 – Coppa Italia 2020-21 Semi Finals
INTER-JUVENTUS 1-2
SCORERS: 9′ Lautaro Martinez (I), 26′ Cristiano Ronaldo (J, pen.), 35′ Cristiano Ronaldo (J)
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INTER (3-5-2): Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni (85′ Pinamonti); Darmian, Barella, Brozovic (85′ Sensi), Vidal (73′ Eriksen), Young (66′ Perisic); Sanchez, Lautaro Martinez (Padelli, Radu, Gagliardini, Vecino, Kolarov, Ranocchia, D’Ambrosio) Coach: Conte |
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JUVENTUS (4-4-2): Buffon; Cuadrado, Demiral, De Ligt, Alex Sandro; McKennie (90′ Chiellini), Bentancur (76′ Arthur), Rabiot, Bernardeschi (70′ Danilo); Kulusevski (90′ Chiesa), Cristiano Ronaldo (77′ Morata) (Szczesny, Pinsoglio, Bonucci, Dragusin, Frabotta, Fagioli, Peeters) Coach: Pirlo |
REFEREE: Mr. Calvarese from Teramo
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Young, Darmian, Vidal, Sanchez (I), Demiral, Cristiano Ronaldo, De Ligt, Arthur (J); Extra Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 4′