The prayers of Juventini fell on deaf ears as Inter clinched their first Coppa Italia title since the 2010/11 season.
It was part of the expectation that Stadio Olimpico would witness a frenzied edition of Derby d’Italia in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday evening. But the game, in reality, turned out to be something more than that, with Nicolo Barella scoring a worldie in the sixth minute of the match. A series of attacks from Simone Inzaghi’s men saw the Nerazzurri sustaining a long spell of pressure against a lacklustre Juventus side. Juve’s first-half display did not illustrate any spark. It was as if nothing was at stake.
Bianconeri came into life in the second half, with a long-range strike from Alex Sandro, who had a tepid first half, and a howler from Samir Handanovic giving Juve the much-awaited equaliser. Dusan Vlahovic scored on the rebound. But Leonardo Bonucci’s misplaced tackle on Lautaro Martinez awarded Inter with a much-needed penalty. Hakan Calhanoglu hit the top right corner with an exquisite conversion of the spot-kick, levelling the score on the board.
The game entered extra time, and Juve’s nightmare began, with a brace from Ivan Perisic guaranteeing a coveted Coppa Italia title for Inter. On the other hand, Juventus secured their first trophyless season since the 2010/11 season, when Inter won their last Coppa Italia title. Here are the player ratings from Bianconeri’s defeat to Nerazzurri.
Juventus: Perin (6); Danilo (6), Chiellini (6.5), De Ligt (6), Alex Sandro (6.5); Cuadrado (5), Zakaria (5.5), Rabiot (5), Bernardeschi (5); Vlahovic (6.5), Dybala (6.5)
Substitutes: Morata (5.5), Bonucci (5), Locatelli (5.5), Arthur (5.5), Pellegrini (5.5), Kean (N/A)
Inter: Handanovic (6); Skriniar (7), De Vrij (6.5), D’Ambrosio (6); Darmian (6), Barella (7.5), Brozovic (7), Calhanoglu (7), Perisic (8.5); Dzeko (5.5), Lautaro MartĂnez (6)
Substitutes: Correa (6), Dumfries (6.5), Dimarco (6.5), Sanchez (6), Vidal (6), Bastoni (N/A)
