07 April 2015
Goals from Alessandro Matri, Roberto Pereyra and Leonardo Bonucci enabled Juventus to complete an incredible turnaround and book their place in June’s Coppa Italia final with this evening’s sensational 3-0 win over Fiorentina.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Massimiliano Allegri warned his men of the difficulties of an away tie in Florence but it was the hosts who bore the brunt of a Bianconeri backlash on a memorable night for the Serie A reigning champions.
Matri got the ball rolling on 21 minutes, remaining the coolest customer in a packed penalty area to slot home his first goal since returning to Juventus at the end of the January transfer window.
Moments ahead of the break, Juventus tipped the tie back in their favour when Pereyra arrived first on the scene to lash home after Neto had pushed Alvaro Morata’s strike directly into the Argentine’s path.
Two became three shortly before the hour mark, when Bonucci crashed an unstoppable volley past Neto after peeling off his marker to devastating effect.
Fiorentina began the brighter of the two sides and Mohamed Salah, the star of March’s first leg at Juventus Stadium, once again provided their main threat in forward areas, seeing a goal correctly ruled out on five minutes for a push on Stefano Sturaro.
Minutes later, Marco Storari, starting in place of Gigi Buffon, was called into action when Marcos Alonso’s dangerous cross arched towards the far corner, with the goalkeeper proving equal to the task by palming his effort clear to safety.
But after an initial Fiorentina flurry, the visitors gradually found their feet and made their first clear-cut chance on goal count. A loose ball in the box was gathered by Carlos Tevez’s late replacement Matri, who took one touch before diverting a cool finish beyond the onrushing Neto on 21 minutes.
Despite looking comfortable in possession, Juventus were dealt a scare when Gonzalo Rodriguez headed Matias Fernandez’s free-kick beyond Storari on 37 minutes, only for the linesman to raise his flag for an offside.
With the game beginning to heat up, the next chance then fell to the Bianconeri, Alvaro Morata curling a wonderful right-footed 20-yard strike just inches past the post after reacting first to a stray ball on the fringes of the area.
The Spaniard soon had cause for celebration though, as his parried shot on the stroke of half-time fell directly into the path of Pereyra, who gleefully swept the ball over the line to put the visitors back in command of the tie.
A frantic start to the second half saw Fiorentina come out all guns blazing and go close through Mario Gomez and Salah, but the visitors maintained their composure and looked to pounce on the counter.
This particular tactic came to fruition when a quick break found Matri, who teed up Pereyra for a shot that was pushed behind by Neto. From the resulting corner, Bonucci shook off his marker and sent an unstoppable volley flashing past Neto to put Juventus in dreamland.
The third goal truly took the wind out of Viola sails on a frustrating night for the hosts, with the Bianconeri more than happy to defend stoutly and see out their advantage.
Even a late red card for Morata, brandished following a strong challenge on substitute Alessandro Diamanti, failed to take the gloss off a scintillating night for Juventus, who will look ahead to an exciting Coppa Italia showdown against the winners of Napoli and Lazio on 7 June.
