Juventus snatched a late equaliser to remain unbeaten in all competitions this season and earn a place in the final of the Coppa Italia after defeat AC Milan 4-3 on aggregate.
Juve took the lead through club legend Alessandro Del Piero in the 28th minute before second half goals from Djamel Mesbah and Maxi Lopes made it 2-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate with just 9 minutes left to play.
It took a 30 yard strike from Mirko Vucinic mid way through the first half of extra time to hand Juve their first Coppa Italia final since 2004. Speaking after the match, Milan’s Allegri expressed disappointment at bowing out of the tournament, but maintained that he was happy with his side.
“Milan have gone out with their heads held high,” Allegri said.
“I’m happy with the performance from the lads.
“It’s a pity that we haven’t been able to reach the final, but we brought some players back who had not played for a while. In extra-time we were very tired, we had expended a lot of energy and we were not able to really attack them.
“We will be ready for Saturday as we have four days to recuperate. A few players did not play tonight, while some others were effectively only on the field for a half, like [Antonio] Nocerino and [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic’.
His opposite number on the other hand was speechless after his side’s performance choosing instead to leave the talking to one of his assistants. Of course, the result was a huge moral booster for Juve who are keen on winning the double this season.
For Milan it means that they will have to put in extra effort in the league and Champions League if they are to have any hopes of lifting silverware this season. Both club’s now prepare for crunch Serie A fixtures this weekend. Milan host Roma at home this Saturday while Juve play host to Inter a day late in what is scheduled to be an interesting weekend of football.
Milan currently lead the Serie A with 60 points, 4 ahead of Juventus who will be look to cut down their lead when they feature in the now famous Derby d’Italia.
photo Credit © kassch
