Juventus take 2-1 lead into second leg of Coppa Italia semi-final against Inter


Juventus take 2-1 lead into second leg of Coppa Italia semi-final against Inter
Cristiano Ronaldo

Juventus defeated Inter Milan 2-1 at San Siro in the first leg of Coppa Italian semi-final. They now have 2 away goals and are in pole position to reach the finals.

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the first half after Lautaro Martinez gave Inter the lead in the 9th minute. A Cristiano Ronaldo penalty brought Juventus level and a clever finish 10 minutes later completed the turnaround.

Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for most goals according to MARCA

Inter were without Achraf Hakimi and Romelu Lukaku, both of whom were suspended for this fixture. Inter started the first half brighter of the two teams and grabbed an early goal through Martinez.

Inter’s Ashley Young pulled back Juan Cuadrado in the box and, following a look at the VAR monitor, Gianpaolo Calvarese awarded a penalty which Ronaldo smashed right down the middle.

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Juve made their dominance tell when Ronaldo capitalised on a mix-up between Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and defender Alessandro Bastoni. Ronaldo caught up on them to roll into an empty net on 35 minutes.

Inter had several chances in the game to score an equalizer but failed to threaten Gianluigi Buffon in goal. The most notable chance fell to Alexis Sanchez who missed a sitter and was blocked by Demiral near the goal-line.

Cristiano Ronaldo was taken off in the second half and left the field looking bemused at the decision. Pirlo claimed the decision to rest his star was made for the greater good.

“There is no contract clause that says he can’t be subbed off. He knows he is a fundamental player for us but to get his breath back, he must always be at the top.

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“I said that he had to rest. We have an important match on Saturday. He has played many consecutive games; every now and then a little rest is good for him.”

Juventus will face Roma on Saturday in a Serie A clash, before they take on Inter again for the 2nd leg of the semi-final.

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