Surprise in the Italian Cup! Juventus eliminated on penalties

Empoli FC sensationally threw Juventus out of the Italian Cup! Roberto D'Aversa's team triumphed after a series of penalties, and in regular time the game ended in a 1:1 draw. Luca Marianucci used the penalty to advance. In the semi-finals, the "Azzurri" will face Bologna.

The match did not start as Thiago Motta's team had hoped. Despite Nicolas Gonzalez's excellent chances in the second minute, Empoli managed to surprise the hosts. Moroccan Youssef Maleh set the ball up and struck from outside the penalty area into the bottom corner of the goal guarded by Mattia Perin. The Italian goalkeeper failed to save the shot, and after 24 minutes the scoreboard showed 0:1 for the visitors.

Despite clearly dominating possession, Juve were unable to equalise before the break and it was the Azzurri who went into the break with a one-goal lead. Just before the break, Empoli could have increased their lead when Ismael Konate found himself face to face with Perin after a great pass from his own goalkeeper. However, the young Italian hit the post.

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The second half belonged to the goalkeepers. Interestingly, Perin was tested more often – at the beginning of the second half, he saved his team from conceding a goal twice. On the other side of the pitch, Devis Stiven Vasquez Llach made a great save, defending a free kick by Dusan Vlahovic.

The turning point came in the 67th minute, when Khephren Thuram showed off an individual action. After a spectacular technical trick that allowed him to bypass the defender, he scored the equalizer. The end of the match was extremely tense, both teams fought for every inch of the pitch, trying at all costs to tip the scales of victory in their favor. Despite numerous attempts, the result remained unchanged, which meant that the match had to be decided in a series of penalties.

In the penalty shootout, Empoli players kept their cool. First, Dusan Vlahovic missed his attempt, and a moment later, Kenan Yildiz's shot was brilliantly saved by Vasquez Llach. Luca Marianucci converted the decisive penalty.

Coach D'Aversa's charges will play in the semi-finals of the competition against Bologna, the club where Łukasz Skorupski normally plays. The broadcast of the semi-final matches of the Italian Cup on Polsat sports channels.

Both teams were without injured Poles – Arkadiusz Milik (Juventus) and Szymon Żurkowski (Empoli). The visitors also had 18-year-old Dawid Bembnista on the bench, but he did not play on the pitch and did not add a debut for the senior "Azzurri" team to his football CV.

Juventus-Empoli 1:1 (0:1)

Goals: Khephren Thuram 67 - Youssef Maleh 24.

2:4 after penalties:

Scored: Randal Kolo Muani, Manuel Locatelli - Liam Henderson, Christian Kouame, Liberato Cacace, Luca Marianucci.

Missed: Dusan Vlahovic, Kenan Yildiz.

Yellow cards: Manuel Locatelli - Liam Henderson, Saba Goglichidze, Sebastiano Esposito.

Juventus: Mattia Perin - Timothy Weah, Federico Gatti, Lloyd Kelly (54. Manuel Locatelli), Andrea Cambiaso (84. Alberto Costa) - Nicolas Gonzalez (60. Francisco Conceicao), Khephren Thuram, Weston McKennie, Teun Koopmeiners (54. Kenan Yildiz), Randal Kolo Muani - Dusan Vlahovic.

Empoli: Devis Stiven Vasquez Llach - Luca Marianucci, Lorenzo Tosto (60. Giuseppe Pezzella), Ardian Ismajli (45. Saba Goglichidze) - Jacopo Bacci (73. Emmanuel Gyasi) - Junior Sambia, Liam Henderson, Youssef Maleh, Liberato Cacace - Lorenzo Colombo (60. Christian Kouame), Ismael Konate (60. Sebastiano Esposito).