Juventus” data-scaytid=”1″>Juventus swept Roma aside 3-0 in the Coppa Italia quarter-final with a trademark old-fashioned Alessandro Del Piero strike, but Erik Lamela saw red.
Juventus swept Roma aside 3-0 in the Coppa Italia quarter-final with a trademark old-fashioned Alessandro Del Piero strike, but Erik Lamela saw red.
The Bianconeri now progress in the competition and will face the winners of Milan–Lazio” data-scaytid=”6″>Milan-Lazio in the semi-final.
Neither side is in Europe this season, but Serie A Winter Champions Juve still opted to rotate the squad. Simone Pepe and Claudio Marchisio were out injured, so Del Piero and former Roma striker Borriello started. The Giallorossi missed Daniele De Rossi and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo.
It took just six minutes to break the deadlock, as Emanuele Giaccherini sprung the offside trap through the middle from a searching Andrea Barzagli pass and kept his cool to place an angled drive over the on-rushing Maarten Stekelenburg.
Marco Storari did well to rush off his line and smother at Miralem Pjanic’s feet when sent clear by Erik Lamela, while Simon Kjaer’s header was over the bar.
Del Piero doubled their lead with a simply stunning goal, which used to be called ‘alla Del Piero.’ It was in his style, bursting forward, cutting back past his marker to find space on the edge of the box and curling an unstoppable right-foot shot into the far top corner. The strike came just a day after the Juve captain was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oscars del Calcio.
Fernando Gago unleashed a long-range effort that Storari beat away with some difficulty, but Marcelo Estigarribia fired on to the side-netting when sent clear on goal by Marrone’s cross-field pass.
At the other end, a Pjanic free kick skimmed the upright to Storari’s right. After the restart, Leonardo Bonucci deflected Rodrigo Taddei’s cross and risked an own goal and from that corner Lamela nodded wide.
A Taddei screamer stung Storari’s palms and pinged up into the air, while Estigarribia’s cross flashed through the six-yard box just inches from the forehead of Borriello.
Gago’s shot on the volley whizzed just past the post and Andrea Pirlo’s free kick hit the side-netting from an improbable angle.
The tension exploded on 68 minutes, as Giorgio Chiellini fell in an off the ball incident. The assistant spotted it and advised the referee to flash a straight red card at Lamela. Replays aren’t entirely clear, but seem to suggest the Argentine kicked out when both had tumbled over.
Roma went close with Totti’s backheel flick completing a one-two with Fabio Borini, but the substitute blasted over. Moments later Totti was substituted after receiving a yellow card for a high kick on Bonucci.
Simon Kjaer dived in to stop Alessandro Matri tapping in a Stephan Lichsteiner assist. Fabio Quagliarella made his comeback from surgery for a fractured cheekbone and within a minute had rattled the frame of the goal, as Matri pounced on a Taddei slip to send him through, but at full stretch he hit the bar.
Estigarribia’s angled drive flashed inches past the far post from a Quagliarella assist and Kjaer got back again to clear a Matri attempt off the line.
In the final minute Juventus made it 3-0, as Quagliarella sprung the offside trap and rolled across for Matri, but Kjaer’s attempt to intervene just turned into an own goal.
Juventus 3-0 Roma
Scorers: Giaccherini 6 (J), Del Piero 30 (J), Kjaer og 90 (J)
Juventus: Storari; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Estigarribia, Marrone, Pirlo, Giaccherini (Krasic 88); Del Piero (Quagliarella 77), Borriello (Matri 63)
Roma: Stekelenburg; Taddei, Kjaer, Heinze, Jose Angel; Simplicio (Greco 67), Gago, Pjanic; Lamela, Totti (Perrotta 72), Bojan (Borini 58)
Ref: Banti
Sent off: Lamela 68 (R)