A stunning strike by veteran Alessandro Del Piero helped Juventus to a 3-0 win over 10-man AS Roma on Tuesday which put the Serie A leaders into the Italian Cup semi-finals.
Juventus took an early lead through Emanuele Giaccherini, before Del Piero doubled his side’s advantage in the 30th minute with a perfect curling effort.
It was the 37-year-old veteran’s first goal for Juventus this season and the popular forward was resoundingly applauded when he went off 13 minutes from time, with coach Antonio Conte also joining in the lengthy standing ovation.
Any chance Roma had of getting back into the match all but evaporated when Erik Lamela was sent off in the 69th minute for kicking Giorgio Chiellini.
Roma’s miserable night was complete when defender Simon Kjaer fired into his own net in the final minute.
Juve, who are unbeaten this campaign, will meet AC Milan or SS Lazio in the semis.
“Finally, he scored an amazing goal, he’s been trying for a while,” Conte said. “He will always be the answer for us and never a problem. I’m also delighted for Giaccherini. A few years ago he was in Serie C and now after a lot of work he is living a fairytale. We’re doing well, we really want to go forward in this competition. I’m happy because even those who haven’t played much were ready and that’s to their credit.”
Juventus got off to the perfect start when they took the lead inside six minutes. Andrea Barzagli split the Roma defense with a through ball to an unmarked Giaccherini, who raced into the area, before firing it past the onrushing goalkeeper and into the far right corner.
Roma had a rare sight of goal in the 29th minute, but stand-in Juventus goalkeeper Marco Storari rushed out swiftly to comfortably block Miralem Pjanic’s effort.
Another mistake in the Roma defense almost gifted Juventus a second goal when Marco Borriello — who arrived on loan from the capital side at the beginning of the month — stole the ball off a former teammate in the six-yard box, but his pace carried him past the dead-ball line before he could strike.
Juve did double their lead on the half-hour mark when Del Piero curled a fantastic shot into the top right corner. Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg could only watch as it sailed in under the crossbar.
They should have extended their advantage six minutes from halftime. Luca Marrone picked out Marcelo Estigarribia on the left flank and he raced into the box with plenty of time to pick his spot, but he fired into the side netting.
Roma were a better side after the break and they carved out several decent opportunities. Lamela’s header went narrowly wide of the right upright shortly after the restart.
Fabio Borini also headed wide as Roma tried to get back into the game, but Lamela was then sent off for kicking Chiellini between the legs in an off-the-ball incident.
Fabio Quagliarella should have grabbed the third goal seconds after coming on for Del Piero, but he saw his close-range effort crash back off the crossbar after being set up perfectly by Alessandro Matri.
Matri also went close seconds later, but Kjaer cleared the ball off the line.
The Roma defender swiftly went from hero to villain. Quagliarella crossed the ball into the area toward Matri and Kjaer slid in, but he could only fire the ball in off the grasping arms of Stekelenburg.
“My players were maybe a bit scared in the first half, but very good in the second,” Roma coach Luis Enrique said. “We made a few mistakes for the first goal and then Del Piero did brilliantly for the second. What I saw is more or less what I wanted, the result is harsh for us, but we have to continue working because we are on the right road. My team wasn’t inferior to Juventus, but it’s the details which make the difference.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two