Juventus and AC Milan set up Supercoppa Femminile final

Date: 6th January 2022 at 6:13pm
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Juventus Women and AC Milan will face off in the Supercoppa Femminile final after running out victorious against Sassuolo and Roma respectively on Wednesday.

The final will be played on Saturday, January 8 at the Stadio Benito Stirpe in Frosinone and will see either the Bianconere or the Rossonere crowned champions.

Juventus scrape past Sassuolo in the Supercoppa Femminile

It took a penalty shootout for Juve to book their place in the Supercoppa Femminile after an incredibly tense match with Sassuolo ended 1-1.

Joe Montemurro’s side took the lead after just 10 minutes when Amanda Nilden smashed a loose ball into the roof of the Sassuolo net after a scramble in the six-yard box.

Within a minute though, the Neroverde were level. Lana Clelland broke through the middle of Juve’s often imperious defence and placed an excellent finish past Pauline Peyraud-Magnin.

The early flurry of goals wasn’t to last as the two teams settled down. Chances were still created by both, but no one could find the breakthrough in Frosinone.

That meant a penalty shoot-out that was started by Lisa Boattin having Juve’s first penalty saved. A goal apiece followed before Sofia Cantore, on loan from Juve, smashed her spot-kick against the crossbar.

More penalties were scored by the likes of Barbara Bonansea, Clelland, and Cristiana Girelli before Davina Philtjens saw her penalty saved and Juve had won the shoot-out 4-3.

AC Milan bounce back

Despite being viewed as the second-best team in Serie A heading into this season, Milan came into this match against Roma as the slight underdogs.

The Rossonere have been in poor form in the league and have actually dropped to fifth place. It is Roma who occupies second after winning four games in a row during the run-up to the Christmas break.

That difference in form coupled with the departure of Veronica Boquete and the absence of Valentina Giacinti against Roma meant Maurizio Ganz’s side had their work cut out to get to the final.

They didn’t play like it though. Milan played with impressive intensity and whilst Roma were very much in the game, the Rossonere were worthy of their 2-0 lead after 37 minutes.

Ex-Roma forward Lindsey Thomas gave Milan the lead when she tucked away a ball into the box from Valentina Bergamaschi. She declined to celebrate the joy in the Milan ranks was evident. That joy was doubled with Bergamaschi’s header five minutes later.

Roma got back into the game with just under 20 minutes to go when Claudio Ciccotti lifted the ball over over the keeper in the box.

Alessandro Spugna’s side put plenty of pressure on the Milan goal in the final stages of the match but the away team stood firm and secured their place in the final.

 

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