Dusan Vlahovic on Thursday set up a Coppa Italia semi-final with his former team ACF Fiorentina after his wildly deflected shot earned Juventus a 2-1 win over US Sassuolo.
Vlahovic signed for Juve from the Viola late last month and has been decisive in both his first two matches, opening the scoring against Hellas Verona on Sunday and ramming an 88th-minute shot against Ruan Tressoldi and past Sassuolo’s veteran goalkeeper Gianluca Pegolo.
He will receive a hostile welcome from his former fans in the Florence leg of the semi-final after becoming the latest player to abandon Fiorentina for Juve after Federico Chiesa and Federico Bernardeschi.
Photo: Reuters
“The only thing I am thinking about is the match and winning, anything else is of little interest to me,” Vlahovic told Mediaset. “It will be a game just like any other, we’re here to play football and that’s not a problem for me.”
The Serbia forward broke the deadlock generated by Paulo Dybala’s third-minute opener and Hamed Traore’s delightful individual effort midway through the first half, just as the match looked to be heading to extra-time.
Up to that point Pegolo, who is 40, had done his best to keep Juve at bay, with his fingertip save from Adrien Rabiot’s glancing header with eight minutes remaining the highlight of a fine performance.
However, the hosts were also unlucky, with Weston McKennie striking the post with a curling effort and then forcing a save from Pegolo in the match’s most chaotic moment.
Matthijs de Ligt smashed the rebound against the post before Sassuolo’s Gian Marco Ferrari thumped the ball onto Leonardo Bonucci and over the bar.
Then with the clock ticking down Vlahovic bustled his way past Mert Muldur and forced the unfortunate Tressoldi’s own-goal, which gives Fiorentina an opportunity for revenge on their former striker.
They are in the last four thanks to Vlahovic’s compatriot Nikola Milenkovic, who fired Fiorentina into the last four with the last kick of a 3-2 win at Atalanta BC.
Milenkovic beautifully cushioned a knock-down and arrowed a low finish past Juan Musso in the fourth minute of stoppage-time.
Atalanta looked to be heading for the semi-finals when Davide Zappacosta and Jeremie Boga canceled out Krzysztof Piatek’s ninth-minute penalty, but Piatek leveled the scores with 19 minutes remaining on the rebound after fluffing another spot-kick.
Despite Viola defender Lucas Martinez being sent off for two bookable offenses eight minutes after Piatek netted his second, Milenkovic then lashed the away side ahead in the final moments.
After an agonizing video assistant referee check for an offside in the buildup, referee Michael Fabbri awarded the goal and immediately blew to ensure Fiorentina’s passage into the semis.
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