STADIO OLIMPICO (Rome) – In an emotional revival of January’s Supercoppa Italiana final, Juventus held Inter to a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes to take the Biscione to extra time, only to see Ivan Perisic score twice to give Simone Inzaghi’s side their first Coppa Italia triumph in 11 years.
Nicolò Barella had broken the deadlock early on, before Alex Sandro and Dusan Vlahovic scored in the space of three minutes at the start of the second half to put Juventus ahead.
With 10 minutes to go, Hakan Calhanoglu then scored the first penalty of the night to make it 2-2.
Ivan Perisic scored another penalty in extra time and then added a fourth in the 102nd minute.
Perhaps inspired by a louder contingent in the stands, the Nerazzurri started the better and found the opener after six minutes, when Barella cut inside from the left to score a screamer that ended up in the far top corner.
Despite a number of shots on target, none of the two sides managed to find the back on the net in the rest of the first half, a lack of precision that was compensated for by Juventus straight after the break.
The game suddenly turned on its head when Alvaro Morata tried to deflect Alex Sandro’s shot – whether he managed to touch the ball or not, it was enough to trump Handanovic and make it 1-1.
Inter won a corner as they looked for an immediate reaction, but they set up a lethal Juve break instead, as Dybala played a delightful through pass to Vlahovic, who had his first shot blocked by Handanovic before completing the comeback on the rebound.
Simone Inzaghi made a series of substitutions that had the effect of forcing Juventus into their own box, eventually leading to Lautaro Martinez earning a penalty, which Calhanoglu clinically converted to level the scores.
A 2-2 draw meant extra time was needed to decide the contest and, just like five months ago, it was the Nerazzurri who made the most of the additional 30 minutes.
Ivan Perisic converted a penalty which was awarded after a Matthijs De Ligt challenge on compatriot Stefan de Vrij, before smashing the ball in the top corner from the edge of the box to clinch a 4-2 win, the first against Juventus in a Coppa Italia final for the Nerazzurri.
