Rome (AFP)
Juventus is definitely not going through an auspicious period and was saved from another defeat by Cristiano Ronaldo, who obtained and transformed a penalty to bring the Turinese to 1-1 on the lawn of AC Milan, Thursday in half final leg of the Italian Cup.
Beaten last weekend by Hellas Verona in Serie A (2-1), Juventus barely escaped a second consecutive loss, which would have put great pressure on coach Maurizio Sarri, already disputed.
But Ronaldo as often put on his savior clothes and took care of everything in additional time: his acrobatic return was diverted from the hand by Calabria, sanctioned with a penalty. The Portuguese transformed him (90 + 1) and the match ended at 1-1.
The result is cruel for Milan, who logically opened the scoring by Rebic at the hour of play (61st) and overall mastered the game.
Above all, to this late equalization, we must add the expulsion of Theo Hernandez and the yellow cards received by Ibrahimovic and Castillejo. The three will be suspended during the return match on March 4 in Turin, which greatly complicates the task of coach Stefano Pioli.
Far from being convincing on Wednesday, Juventus therefore remains the favorite for qualification for the final. But his performances are still mediocre as the title fight rages on with Inter Milan and Lazio Rome and his eighth-final Champions League against Lyon is approaching.
In the other semifinal, Naples took an option with their 1-0 away win on Wednesday against Inter Milan.
© 2020 AFP