Juventus won the Coppa Italia for the first time in 20 years thanks to Alessandro Matri’s extra-time strike which secured a 2-1 victory over Lazio.
Alessandro Matri came off the bench to hit an extra-time winner as Juventus beat Lazio 2-1 to win the Italian Cup final in Rome on Wednesday.
Juventus’s first Cup triumph since 1995 keeps the Turin giants on track for a treble of trophies in Massimiliano Allegri’s first season at the club.
Juventus secured their fourth consecutive scudetto several weeks ago and face Barcelona in the final of the Champions League in Berlin on June 6.
Juventus were stunned after just four minutes when Stefan Radu rose to beat Marco Storari with a powerful header from a free-kick after Paul Pogba had given away a needless foul on the right flank.
Juve got back on level terms thanks to Giorgio Chiellini’s half-volley in the 10th minute.
The match finished all square after 90 minutes but Matri, back on loan at Juve after being sold to Milan in 2013, made the difference when he latched on to Carlos Tevez’s lay-off inside the area to bundle past Etrit Berisha in the Lazio net.
Juve held on to their lead amid a tense second period of extra-time to send the black and white half of the Stadio Olimpico into raptures as the champions secured their first league and cup double since 1995.
“It’s our first cup trophy in 20 years, so it’s obviously special for us,” said Matri.
Juve now just have to focus on the Champions League final against Barcelona in Berlin on June 6 to complete their season and emulate the treble feats of Inter Milan, in 2010.
“It was a great final,” said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri. “Now we just have to keep our focus until June 6.
“We’ll go to Berlin having won the league and the cup, but Barcelona are in great form, just as we are.”
Allegri was missing midfielder Claudio Marchisio and striker Alvaro Morata through suspension, and was also without number one goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, whose absence was felt almost immediately when Storari struggled to reach Radu’s powerful header from a free-kick on the right.
Courtesy AFP
