Coppa Italia semifinal return leg
Juventus qualify to the Italian Cup final in Rome. Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates kept the small away goal advantage earned in the first leg at AC Milan (1-1) to move onto the final.
AC Milan suffered a red card and played three quarters of the game down to 10 men. Ronaldo missed a penalty just few minutes after AC Milan, Rebic was sent off the pitch.
Italian football returned in a poor fashion as players seem to be needing some time to acclimate to the new norms of behind-closed-doors football. Juventus will know of who between Napoli or Inter Milan will join them to play the final in Rome at the Olympic stadium.
Juventus Coach Sarri comments on returning to the bench.
“It’s a great feeling to be back on the bench and seeing the team on the field after three months, even if we missed the fans. It was not easy for anyone.
The team satisfied me a lot in the first 30 minutes, with great dominance and then we dropped in rhythm and mental intensity, but at this point in time, the games present a lot of risks. The players have been on their sofas for weeks, and so getting them back to complete physical and mental efficiency is not simple or automatic.
It is much worse than a pre-season situation, because in that case, the players are less firm and above all remain active. It will take a little patience, but tonight’s premise, in the first half hour, was important. Ronaldo? He made himself available, he also suffered a bit towards the end but played the match that needed to be done. The missed penalty was unfortunate.”
Juventus will face Napoli in the Coppa Italia final on June 17th at Rome’s Estadio Olimpico.
