Fiorentina-Juve, the first leg of the second semifinal of the Italian Cup, scheduled tonight at the Franchi stadium at 21 hours (on tv on Channel 5), it will above all be the Juventus striker's final exam Dusan Vlahovic, who returns to his former fans for the first time. On the other hand, the first match of the other semi-final of the Italian Cup played yesterday evening between Milan and Inter at San Siro was disappointing and ended 0-0, postponing the final verdict to the second leg.
Fiorentina-Juve is a never trivial match due to a rivalry that has lasted for 40 years (the 1982 Scudetto was a convict), but this time, if possible, the hatred is even higher than usual. Blame Vlahovic and his recent transfer to black and white, which sent Florence to the brink of a nervous breakdown, then partially returned thanks to Piatek's goals. His return to the Franchi is therefore one of the major reasons of interest of the evening, even if Allegri, both for turnover and environmental issues, could also give him a rest shift, at least at the start.
Allegri's words first fi Fiorentina-Juve
“Dusan will always be grateful to all of Florence, where he grew up until he reached Juventus – Allegri thought – He is calm and serene, then it is normal that it is a special game, he returns to where he has been for either way, they are steps a 22 year old needs to take. There should be other concerns at the moment, Fiorentina-Juve is a good match between two strong teams who want to reach the final”. The Viola people, however, do not think so and will hardly (understatement) listen to the advice of the Juventus coach before Fiorentina-Juve. On the rest, however, Max is undoubtedly right, because the challenge promises to be very interesting, between two coaches with very different ideas about football and two teams in their image and likeness.
Italian words
“The welcome to Vlahovic? This problem does not concern us and is not part of the preparation for the match – the Italian cut short -. I have to think about their attack, up front they are very strong and have arrows that can hurt at any moment, the same in defense and in the league they are returning from 13 consecutive useful results. I hope that the stadium concentrates on supporting us, I need support to try to drag us along: Franchi, when the weather warms up, becomes beautiful". The Viola coach knows that this is the match of the year for his people, especially as it can be worth a final that has been missing since 2014 and, above all, it can open a fast track to Europe. Of course, Fiorentina can also reach it through the championship, but going to the final against one of the Milanese would mean having the almost certainty of having achieved the goal.
Fiorentina-Juve, the formations
Everyone is available, except for the suspended Martinez Quarta, for Fiorentina, who will face this semi-final first leg with the best possible formation. The Italian will rely on the usual 4-3-3 with Terracciano in goal, Odriozola, Milenkovic, Igor and Biraghi in defense, Bonaventura, Torreira and Castrovilli in midfield, Nico Gonzalez, Piatek and Saponara in attack. On the other hand, the list of Juventus unavailable is very long, with Allegri who will have to give up Dybala, Rugani, Chiellini, Alex Sandro and Zakaria, in addition to the usual Chiesa, McKennie, Bernardeschi and Kaio Jorge. The coach will also certainly give Szczesny and Bonucci a rest and could do the same with Vlahovic, even if on the latter it is possible it is mere pre-tactical. The black and white 4-3-3 will thus see Perin between the posts, Pellegrini, Danilo, De Ligt and De Sciglio in the back department, Locatelli, Arthur and Rabiot in the midfield, Cuadrado, Vlahovic (or Morata) and Kean in the offensive trident.
Milan-Inter 0-0, the analysis of the match
Milan-Inter 0-0, everything will be decided in the second leg. The first leg derby of the Coppa Italia semi-final ends with a draw which, on balance, can be good for both, at least in terms of results. In fact, qualification for the final remains very open, although the away goal rule, still valid for this season (who knows why...), gives a very small advantage to the Rossoneri, who would go through even with a goal equal, speaking of the game, however, if the Milanese wanted to give answers, we're just not there.
It was a tight and emotional derby, not to say ugly, very far from the championship one of last February 5th. Both Milan and Inter did not arrive well, which fueled doubts and fears of both, the rest was done by circumstances (a first leg semi-final, moreover between two teams from the same city, is closed by nature) and the busy schedule, which has inevitably rationed energy. Pioli's Rossoneri return home with a few more regrets, even if the result, as previously mentioned, is by no means to be thrown away in view of the return, the greater number of chances created however authorizes us to speak of a wasted chance.
The Devil showed better physical condition, which produced some interesting situations already in the first minutes with Saelemaekers, Hernandez and Krunic, to then get to those in the second half with Leao and Giroud, but he wasted them badly, once again showing little bad in the goal area. Inter, on the other hand, did very little in goal, limiting themselves to a few insidious balls well rejected by Romagnoli (who went off due to an injury in the 25th minute) and Kalulu: the consecutive games without scoring become 4, a huge amount considering that we are talking about the best attack in the championship. Also worth noting is a suspicious episode in the Nerazzurri area due to a, let's say, "male" contact between Skriniar and Giroud, but otherwise the 0-0 was basically right and left Milan wondering about the reasons for so many difficulties.
The words of Pioli and Inzaghi
“We had a good race and I liked the team a lot – commented Pioli -. I think we deserved to win for the performance we put in, but from the point of view of the two games it's a good result. We attacked Inter throughout the match, we were very dangerous and we conceded little, but unfortunately we failed in the finalisation, in the last check or in the last pass”.
“It was a less spectacular derby than the last two, but there was a lot at stake, the two teams weren't very fluid and easy – replied Inzaghi -. We'll have to win the return leg, we want the final to lift another trophy, knowing that this is such a moment, we need to recover our brilliance after a period in which we played a lot. We haven't scored in four games and this is news, but we still have the best attack in the league and we'll be back to scoring soon."
