Roma.- Juventus took an important step towards the final of the Italian Cup by winning this Tuesday by 2 to 1 in their visit to Inter Milan, Tuesday in the first leg of the semifinals.
Argentine Lautaro Martínez put Inter ahead in the 9th minute, taking advantage of a cross from Nicolo Barella, but then star Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to overcome the match with a double before the break.
The first of CR7 came in the 26th, transforming a penalty that the English Ashley Young had committed on the Colombian Juan Cuadrado and that the referee decreed after a video review.
The Portuguese player’s next came in the 35th minute, taking advantage of a major lack of understanding between Alessandro Bastoni and Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who was later replaced in 76 by the Spanish Álvaro Morata, raised his number of goals in official matches to 762.
In the second half, Inter tried to achieve a better result for the second leg, but could not find the formula.
Gianluigi Buffon, in the 1,100 game of his long career (adding clubs and national team), spoiled a good chance for Chilean Alexis Sánchez and Lautaro Martínez did not hit the rebound, in 67.
Two minutes later, the Argentine player tried from mid-range, but the shot just missed.
Inter missed their Belgian star Romelu Lukaku, suspended for having received two yellow cards in the previous two rounds.
“We have given them two gifts, which have allowed them to get 2-1. For the rest, I think we played a good game,” estimated Interista coach Antonio Conte.
Buffon, who has played 679 games for Juventus, celebrated his match 1,100 in total on social media: “1,100 times as if it were the first time.”
The tie between Juventus, the leaders of the Italian Cup with thirteen titles, and Inter, the seven-time winner of this tournament, will have its final outcome on Tuesday next week with the second leg in Turin.
“This is only the first ’round’. This lasts 180 minutes, so we still haven’t achieved anything,” warned the ‘Vecchia Signora’ coach, Andrea Pirlo.
‘Vendetta’
This Wednesday will be the first leg of the other semifinal, disputed by Atalanta and Naples.
The grand finale will be on May 19.
With its victory at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium, Juventus approached that decisive date, where it would try to remove the thorn from its defeat in the penalty shoot-out of the last match of the last ‘Coppa’, in which it fell to Napoli.
The ‘bianconero’ team, champion two weeks ago of its first title in 2021 by lifting the Italian Super Cup, continues its good streak and has won the last five games it has played, taking into account all competitions, precisely since its defeat 2-0 at Inter’s field on January 17 in Serie A.
In the Italian league, Juventus is fourth, seven points behind leaders AC Milan, which in the Italian Cup was eliminated this season in the quarterfinals by Inter, which is second to two points in the national championship standings.
Inter have placed their hopes of celebrating a title again in national tournaments, after their great disappointment in the Champions League, where they were bottom of their group and were eliminated at the first exchange rate.
The last trophy won by the ‘Nerazzurri’ was precisely in the Italian Cup, which they won a decade ago, in 2011. Since then their ceiling in the tournament was the semifinals, so they need a comeback in the second leg to return for end to end.