Juventus wins Coppa Italia to keep treble dream alive

Juventus beat Lazio to win a third successive Italian Cup final as goals from Dani Alves and Leonardo Bonucci kept the team on course for a treble this season with a 2-0 victory in the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.

Published : May 18, 2017 02:48 IST , Rome

Juventus players celebrate a goal during the Italian Cup final match between Lazio and Juventus at the Rome Olympic stadium on Wednesday.
Juventus players celebrate a goal during the Italian Cup final match between Lazio and Juventus at the Rome Olympic stadium on Wednesday.
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Juventus players celebrate a goal during the Italian Cup final match between Lazio and Juventus at the Rome Olympic stadium on Wednesday.

Juventus secured the first title of a possible treble by winning the Italian Cup with an authoritative 2-0 victory over Lazio in the final on Wednesday.

Dani Alves gave Juventus an lead early in the first half with a volley following a long cross from Alex Sandro. Then Leonardo Bonucci was left unmarked to tap in following a corner in the 25th minute.

Juventus can clinch the Serie A title this weekend, and then faces Real Madrid in the Champions League final next month. The Bianconeri became the first club to win three straight Italian Cups and brought its record title collection to 12 in the competition.

After being beaten by Roma on Sunday, its first Serie A loss since January, the victory gave Juventus a boost of confidence for the June 3 European final against defending champion Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Italy President Sergio Mattarella was in attendance at the Stadio Olimpico and fans of both clubs put on a show with colorful pre-match choreography.

As has been the case for most of the season in Cup matches, Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon was rested and Neto played in goal. Lazio took the initiative at the start when Keita Balde Diao hit the post from a sharp angle.

But Juventus responded immediately with a long shot from Gonzalo Higuain that Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha had to punch away.

Alves scored five minutes later and Paulo Dybala also threatened, along with Higuain, before Bonucci’s goal.

Lazio striker Ciro Immobile missed with a header that went just wide shortly after the half-hour mark and also came close early in the second half when he was denied with a quick—reflex save by Neto from one yard (meter).

Immobile missed another close-range attempt with 11 minutes to go and soon Juventus was celebrating.

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