Fiorentina dominated the fixture and Jonathan Ikone hit the upright but Juventus won with a lucky ricochet off Venuti.
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Lorenzo Venuti’s injury-time own goal helped Juventus beat Fiorentina 1-0 in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg clash at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Wednesday. Although it was Fiorentina who dominated the fixture and Jonathan Ikone hit the upright, Juventus won with a lucky ricochet off Venuti. The second leg is planned for Turin on April 20. Away goals do count double on aggregate in this stage of the tournament. Meanwhile Dusan Vlahovic returned to the Stadio Arachi for the first time since moving in the January transfer window.
Also read: AC Milan vs Inter Milan: Coppa Italia semi-final first leg ends in a goalless draw
FT | ⌛️ | WE SEAL THE FIRST LEG IN FLORENCE! ?⚪⚫#FiorentinaJuve #CoppaItaliaFrecciarossa #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/frIdH19V8F
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) March 2, 2022
Riccardo Saponara and Cristiano Biraghi tested Mattia Perin from distance before a poor pass from Perin gave away the ball to Giacomo Bonaventura on the edge of the box. But the midfielder failed to make the most of the opportunity as he blasted his effort over the bar.
The Viola continued to push forward in front of their home supporters as Jonathan Ikone was released down the right flank. The Frenchman sprinted into the box and his angled drive went inches wide of the far post.
Lucas Torreira’s long-range shot went over the bar before Alvaro Ordizola went off injured at the break. Ikone had the best chance of the match in the second half when Torreira played a brilliant through ball to find the Frenchman’s run in between two defenders. The 23-year-old cut inside past Mattia de Sciglio, before curling a left-foot shot on to the far post.
At the other end, Juventus had a rare threat on goal through Vlahovic. The Serbian used his upper body strength to hold off Igor and tried to lift the ball over the keeper, but Pietro Terracciano was well positioned to deny the 21-year-old. Meanwhile at the other end, Perin was having a busy night as Biraghi’s well taken free-kick had to be kept out.
Just when it looked like the match would end in a draw, against the run of play, Juve drew the first blood on 93 minutes when Juan Cuadrado’s cross hit Venturi, ricocheted into the net from a couple of yards. There was nothing he could do about it as the ball bounced in off his shin.
