Juventus have won the TIM Cup, defeating AC Milan 1-0 after extra time at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
After a first half that saw Milan dominate proceedings with precious little to show for it, Juventus slowly came into the match in the second frame but neither side could seize initiative. Extra time had slowed to a snail’s pace before Alvaro Morata scored the late winner with his first touch of the match.
It took just eight minutes for controversy to strike, as Davide Calabria seemed to clip Paul Pogba from behind after some nice footwork from the Frenchman but referee Gianluca Rocchi waved play on.
The first solid piece of attacking play fell to Milan 13 minutes in when an early low Calabria cross found Giacomo Bonaventura but the Italian could only poke wide at the near post.
Bonaventura and Mattia De Sciglio had efforts from outside the box finish over the bar before the versatile Italian midfielder caught goalkeeper Neto wrong-footed, the Brazilian able to readjust himself in time to make the awkward save.
In the 39th minute a dangerous Rossoneri counter attack saw Keisuke Honda lay the ball into the path of Andrea Poli but the midfielder ballooned his shot over, before the Japanese wasted a chance of his own in similar fashion as Milan just could not keep their efforts down.
Juventus meanwhile, were unable to find any sort of rhythm in the opening stanza and seemed to lack competitive sharpness, kept under pressure constantly by their counterparts.
The early stages of the second half saw Milan in control but continued to be let down with a lack of quality in the final third.
Incredibly, it took Juventus over an hour to generate a decent scoring attempt, when Hernanes curled his shot over the bar.
The Bianconeri were finally beginning to play and in the 70th minute Pogba tried to catch Donnarumma flatfooted at the near post but the teenager was able to get down well to make the save.
Aside from an 80th-minute long-range effort by Pogba that finished straight into the chest of Donnarumma, the final 20 minutes of normal time were played without real incident.
In the first period of extra time, Pogba forced a diving save out of Donnarumma in the 102nd minute before a spectacular Carlos Bacca overhead kick finished just over the bar.
Just when it looked as if the tie was destined for penalty kicks, Morata stepped up in the 110th minute to volley home a Juan Cuadrado cross at the near post, seconds after his introduction.
The victory awards the Bianconeri the domestic double for a record second consecutive season while Milan now officially miss out on Europe, much to the delight of Sassuolo.
