AC Milan undone by Rebic red as Juventus reach the Coppa Italia final

Date: 12th June 2020 at 10:57pm
Written by:

AC Milan held out for a 0-0 draw against Juventus in their Coppa Italia semi-final second leg, though it mattered not as the Bianconeri made their way to the final on away goals.

The tie was finely balanced at 1-1 from the first leg in February, though Milan’s task was made all the more difficult when Ante Rebic was sent off for a dangerous challenge 16 minutes in.

That came after Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post from the penalty spot. Juventus put the pressure on Milan from the off and 14 minutes in referee Daniele Orsato awarded a spot kick to the home side, after consulting VAR.

Ronaldo controlled a corner in the box and as he did so, the ball struck the arm of Andrea Conti. The Portuguese superstar stepped up and smashed the ball off the post.

Milan might have survived that, but as the Rossoneri cleared the ball Rebic was given a straight red card for a karate-style challenge on Danilo, which saw his boot land squarely in the chest of the Brazilian.

There were just 13 seconds between the penalty miss and Rebic trying to take Danilo’s head off, and it resulted in one way traffic for the rest of the half.

Gianluigi Donnarumma kept Milan in the game with an excellent point blank save on a Blaise Matuidi effort from inside the penalty area, then denied Ronaldo who tried his luck from range.

After the break, Hakan Calhanoglu headed a Giacomo Bonaventura cross just wide of the post, while at the other end Paulo Dybala had a strike blocked by Franck Kessie.

Both sides struggled to create chances as the second half wore on. Juventus had the majority of possession, and Milan were dangerous on the counter-attack.

Simon Kjaer headed wide, before Dybala tested Donnarumma with a curling effort.

The draw gives Juventus a 12 match unbeaten streak against Milan, which is the longest such run against the Rossoneri, and sends them to their 19th Coppa Italia final

 

Comments are closed.