Lazio were unable to replicate their performance against Juventus as Massimiliano Allegri’s side fought for a 2-0 win in Turin.
The Biancocelesti worked hard to edge out a 1-0 victory over the Old Lady in their Serie A clash on Saturday evening, securing all three points after a late Adam Marusic winner, but their heroics couldn’t be repeated at the Allianz Stadium 72 hours later.
Igor Tudor switched things around with his Lazio squad for the Coppa Italia semi-final clash with Juventus, returning to first team regulars like Ciro Immobile, Luis Alberto and Matteo Guendouzi, leaving Valentin Castellanos and Daichi Kamada on the bench.
Massimiliano Allegri also made some changes to his starting line-up, returning to a three-man defence and starting Dusan Vlahovic in place for Moise Kean, adding some firepower to the Juventus frontline.
The match got off to a quick start at the Allianz Stadium and Juventus thought they’d been given a penalty in the 10th minute, when Matias Vecino seemingly brought down Federico Chiesa. A quick VAR check followed, which revealed an offside in the build-up, chalking off the spot kick.
Even more concerning was when Mattia Zaccagni was forced off the pitch in the 14th minute with a concerning injury, forcing Gustav Isaksen to come on as his replacement.
Lazio had a few forays forward of their own in the first half, but none of their chances proved particularly troubling for the hosts, who themselves didn’t look decisive in the final third.
Juventus started well in the second half and took a 1-0 lead over Lazio in the 50th minute, when a great ball from Andrea Cambiaso broke the lines and allowed Federico Chiesa to sprint into the box, where he beat Christos Mandas to put his side ahead.
The Bianconeri doubled their lead 14 minutes later after some fancy footwork from Dusan Vlahovic allowed him to blast a shot past a diving Mandas, allowing the hosts to put one foot in the Coppa Italia final.
Lazio will now have to dig deep to overcome their 2-0 deficit in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-finals with Juventus on 23rd April.
