Juventus 2-1 Sassuolo: Late own goal sends Coppa Italia holders into last four

Turin, February 11: Dusan Vlahovic inspired a late winner as Juventus secured their place in the Coppa Italia semi-finals with a 2-1 home victory over Sassuolo on Thursday (February 10).

Reigning champions Juve raced out the blocks at the Allianz Stadium as Paulo Dybala scored after just three minutes, but Hamed Traore soon levelled things up.

The Bianconeri were twice denied by the woodwork after the break, with Matthijs de Ligt missing a golden chance, though Vlahovic fortuitously fired past Gianluca Pegolo via a heavy deflection off Ruan with two minutes remaining to send Juve through.

Massimiliano Allegri's team will now face Fiorentina – who defeated Atalanta 3-2 in the day's earlier quarter-final – in a two-legged tie across March and April.

𝗗𝗨𝗦𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗦 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛!!! 🔥🏆✅ #JuveSassuolo #CoppaItaliaFrecciarossa #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/YxKFwrHnL0

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) February 10, 2022

Victory meant Juve have qualified for the Coppa Italia semi-finals in seven of the last eight seasons, while no side has made it past the quarter-final stage on more occasions than the Bianconeri (10) since the 2006-07 season.

Much of the credit Allegri gave to his players after the game was aimed at new additions Zakaria and Vlahovic, the latter of whom made a January move from Fiorentina in a transfer that could be worth up to €80million.

"We are happy with the signings of Vlahovic and Zakaria, who have integrated well," Allegri told Mediaset.

"We are happy to have Vlahovic, who still needs to improve as much at attacking the depth better, but this is part of the improvement of each player.

"We also had luck after a good second half, their goal made us leave the game but then we woke up."

Juve's fortunes have slowly been changing. They have won nine of their 13 games since the start of December and have moved up to fourth in Serie A - eight points behind leaders Inter, who have a game in hand.

But when asked if Juve could make a late charge for the Scudetto, Allegri swiftly dismissed the suggestions: "We are potentially 11 points behind Inter.

"We have to make the race against Atalanta and we will have to be ready: it will be head-to-head until the end. The others are out of reach."

2️⃣ in 2️⃣ for Dušan Vlahović as the Serbian strikes late to secure our #CoppaItaliaFrecciarossa semi-final spot ✅#JuveSassuolo #ForzaJuve

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) February 10, 2022

Vlahovic may take the plaudits, including from Allegri, for his role in the winning goal, but he failed to replicate the form he showed when scoring on his debut against Hellas Verona last Sunday (February 6).

The striker missed the target with three of his five shots, while also squandering a glorious first-half chance, but the Serbia international expressed his satisfaction with how he is settling in as he heaped praise on his attacking colleagues Dybala and Alvaro Morata.

"We are only at the beginning, but as I said last time, I owe a lot to my team-mates, to the coach, to the whole club, who have welcomed me very well, they are helping me a lot," Vlahovic said.

"It would not have been possible without the team. For me it is an honour to play here, to help my team-mates and to be available to the team.

"They [Dybala and Morata] are two very good guys, after great champions, great players, they have won a lot. I'm the youngest, I'm here to listen to them and try to reach their levels."

The Bianconeri will look to continue their fine run of form when they return to Serie A action against fellow top-four contenders Atalanta on Sunday (February 13).