BEVERLY HILLS, May 20, (THEWILL) – There was a huge relief for beleaguered former nine-time Serie A champions Juventus after they clinched their 14th Coppa Italia with a 2-1 win against Atalanta on Wednesday at the MAPEI Stadium, Citta del Tricolore on Wednesday night.
Atalanta, who have had an amazing run in the domestic league all season and outscored every other team, were seeking to win the trophy for the first time since 1963, but it was to the advantage of the Old Lady that they ended the season with something worth celebrating.
A disappointing 2020/2021 campaign saw them miss out on defending their league victory from last season and get knocked out of the UEFA Champions League at the same stage again this year by none other than Porto, leading to exit rumours of their Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and replacement of manager and club legend Andrea Pirlo.
However, all these issues were relegated to the background, even if temporarily on Wednesday, as goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Federico Chiesa sealed the victory and won them the trophy.
They have sharp goalkeeping from 43-year-old Gianluigi Buffon, who is leaving Turin this summer, to thank for remaining in the game in the early period as he rebuffed the quickfire attacks of the Atalanta frontline.
A penalty shoot, a quarter of an hour into the match, for Atalanta, which had the potential to change the tenor of the final was waved aside even as the Atalanta players protested their cause. It was not going to happen as referee David Massa was having none of it.
It took a minute after the half hour mark for the deadlock to be broken with the Kulusevski opener, which had the immediate impact of evoking a response from Gian Pietro Gasperini’s charges. The increased pressure they injected into their play paid off because with three minutes to the interval Ruslan Malinovskiy blasted a rocket shot from distance to take both sides into the break level.
Juventus improved out of the gates in the second period and held possession a lot better. In fact, a more confident play came from their marksman Ronaldo, who became more of a pest to the Atalanta defense as the match wore on. As he went in search of a winner, Buffon kept his net clean at the back for the Old Lady. Two diving saves and two saves inside the box were all a good day’s work for the veteran.
The goal Juve’s efforts deserved came in the 73rd minute when Chiesa fired a smart finish past Pierluigi Gollini, in the Atalanta goal, evoking wild scenes of celebration on the touchline, with Andrea Pirlo and Paulo Dybala hugging fiercely just seconds before the Argentine came on to replace goalscorer Chiesa for the rest of the game.
Gasperini showed how desperately he wanted to win the match as Atalanta took off numerous defenders and Introduced strikers, a move that Juve countered by bringing in the calvary of a back three with Leonardo Bonucci manning it to shut up shop and preserve the lead which Buffon had done so well to hold.
In the end, Buffon lifted the Coppa Italia once again with the Juve team in what could well be his final ever appearance for Juve after years of dutiful service and multiple trophies.
But, as he confirmed and as THEWILL reported, the time has come to leave and if he plays no other match for the Old Lady, he will be proud that this was his last one.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
