Juventus took control of their Coppa Italia semi-final on Wednesday after Lorenzo Venuti’s own goal handed the visitors a 1-0 first-leg victory in Dusan Vlahovic’s return to Florence.
Venuti left the pitch in tears after deflecting Juan Cuadrado’s cross into his own net in the first minute of stoppage time to hand Juve the win and a potentially crucial away goal.
Serbia striker Vlahovic was back at the Stadio Artemio Franchi for the first time since arriving in Turin in January but had little joy for exhausted Juve in a tense game that lacked quality.
“It was a difficult match because we were so short of players, but we managed to keep order and we are improving,” Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri told Mediaset.
“We are physically and psychologically fine, now we have to put this game aside and look towards the weekend. »
The tie will be decided at the Alianz Stadium next month, with the winners facing either AC Milan or Inter Milan – who drew 0-0 on Tuesday – in May’s final in Rome.
“I don’t know what more I could have asked for, we made 22 shots and barely conceded in defence,” said Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano.
“We still have the second leg and we will go to Turin to play our own match. »
Fiorentina fans had promised a fiery welcome to former hero Vlahovic, whose move to fierce Juve for an initial fee of 70 million euros ($80.2 million) ended months of speculation around the 22-year-old’s future.
welcome to Hell
He had infuriated Viola fans by refusing to sign a contract extension which owner Rocco Commisso said would have made him the highest paid player in the club’s history.
Home fans made a huge uproar with the 10,000 whistles distributed creating a deafening noise, and the teams presented themselves in front of a huge display depicting the medieval Florentine poet Dante surrounded by flames.
A banner directed at Vlahovic quoted Canto 26 from “Inferno,” a passage from the Eighth Circle of Hell about the plight of the enablers of fraud.
However, their former player’s high-culture barracks were defaced by a large group of Fiorentina fans who ignored the club’s call not to racially abuse Vlahovic, with chants of ‘you’re a gypsy’ clearly heard during the pre-match warm-up. at the top.
The match in progress, the players responded to a firecracker atmosphere with frenetic football lacking in composure.
Juve had nine players absent, with Denis Zakaria becoming the latest in a long line on the treatment table on Monday alongside Paulo Dybala, Federico Chiesa, Giorgio Chiellini and Weston McKennie.
Fiorentina went closest in the first half when Jonathan Ikone took to the field and bamboozled Mattia De Sciglio before trailing centimeters wide.
France international Ikone went even closer shortly after the break, firing a shot past the post after being sent in by Lucas Torreira and blasting away De Sciglio again.
Vlahovic’s only good chance and Juve’s only shot on target, a missed lob, was then deflected by Pietro Terracciano in the 56th minute.
From there, the game seemed to be headed for a stalemate until hapless Venuti handed Juve a goal which made their passage to the final much more likely.
Read all the latest Assembly news, breaking news and live updates here.
–
