Juventus and Inter in balance in first Coppa Italia semifinal

In the semifinals of the tournament for the Coppa Italia, the cracker between Juventus (21-time winner) and Inter (14 cups in the cupboard) ended 1-1. Denzel Dumfries came on for Inter about ten minutes before time. Stefan de Vrij remained on the bench throughout the match.

After an early chance for Angel Di María, who shot wide after a dribble, Inter took control. Juve goalkeeper Mattia Perin turned a free kick by Federico Dimarco and a shot by Marcelo Brozovic, and saw a header by Danilo D’Ambrosio go over.

Juve did little in return, but created chances after halftime. Dusan Vlahovic, former FC Groningen player Filip Kostic and former Ajax player Arek Milik missed, but Juan Cuadrado did score seven minutes before time. In injury time, Romelu Lukaku equalized from the penalty spot after Gleison Bremer’s hands, after which the flames briefly flared.

After the penalty kick was taken, the Belgian provoked the Juventus supporters, something the Juve players were not happy about. An altercation ensued, after which Lukaku received his second yellow card and was allowed to retire. For their part in the consternation, Cuadrado and Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic were also shown the red card.

The other semifinal will be between Cremonese and Fiorentina on Wednesday night. The returns of both duels are in three weeks.