Roma caused an upset in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia Femminile as they knocked out Juventus. In the other semi-final, AC Milan prevailed against city rivals Inter to set up a mouth-watering final, with neither of the contestants having played in a final before.
The first leg was won by the Giallorosse 2-1, which was Juve’s first domestic defeat for almost two years. Roma went 1-0 down in the second leg in Turin through Sofie Junge Pedersen’s header, which meant they’d be knocked out on the away goals rule.
Roma took the fight to Juve and finally, with 12 minutes to go, Lindsey Thomas stabbed in a loose ball following a corner having already fluffed her lines when unexpectedly presented with an open goal. That made it 3-2 to Roma on aggregate.
EXCLUSIVE – Marija Banusic: Italian tactics, overhead kick expertise, and a title charge in the making #SerieAFemminile https://t.co/Gx9xdzlgac pic.twitter.com/oRE1YyKeXe
— ForzaItalianFootball (@SerieAFFC) April 15, 2021
Just four minutes later though, Paloma Lazaro headed in another corner at the near post to make it 4-2 on aggregate on 2-1 on the day. Suddenly Juve needed three goals.
Despite two stoppage-time goals from the Bianconere, Roma had done enough and booked themselves a place in the Coppa Italia final. The game ended 3-2 to Juve but 4-4 on aggregate. Roma’s two away goals proved crucial in securing their first-ever appearance in this competition’s final.
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We’re into the Coppa Italia final! ?
#ASRomaWomen #ASRoma pic.twitter.com/YeC7zhIIOf— AS Roma Women (@ASRomaWomen) April 25, 2021
In the competition’s other semi-final, Milan overturned their 2-1 defeat to Inter from the first leg with a comfortable 4-2 win. That meant a 5-4 aggregate victory for the Rossonere.
Milan were 2-0 up at half time after a double from Veronica Boquete, but Inter pulled a goal back just after the restart through Gloria Marinelli.
In the last 10 minutes, Natasha Dowie scored twice to make it 4-1 on the day and put the tie out of Inter’s reach. Caroline Moller pulled one back for the Nerrazzure but it was too little too late.
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Relive the relentless Rossonere’s derby win worth the Coppa Italia final ???Finale! Riviviamo il poker delle rossonere nel Derby di #CoppaItaliaFemminile ??? #FollowTheRossonere #SempreMilan #HarmontAndBlaine pic.twitter.com/ymcdX7Jeyq
— AC Milan (@acmilan) April 24, 2021
The final will be contested by the Serie A Femminile’s second (Milan) and fourth (Roma) placed teams on May 30.