The dream of bringing the Coppa to Bergamo fades away in the second half, as Juventus win the 2020-2021 TIMVISION Cup 2-1 at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia.
The Nerazzurri started strong and got dangerous after three minutes with Palomino who saw his close-range shot being saved by Buffon. Zapata then skimmed the post in the 5th minute and the Colombian pounced over de Ligt’s back-pass but couldn’t get past Buffon. Freuler had a chance in the 25th minute: his angled drive was inches wide. The game was unlocked on 31 with a left-foot curler from Kulusevski. But the Nerazzurri reaction was straight and managed to equalize on 41 with another left-foot shot, this time from Malinovskyi, who beat Buffon with a rocket to make it level before half-time.
In the second half, Gollini blocked Kulusevski on 58, then Chiesa thumped the post in the 60th minute. The decider was scored on 73: Kulusevski completed a give and go with Chiesa, who found the back of the net. The Nerazzurri put their heart on the pitch in the final minutes, but Muriel fired off target on 78 and Juve closed any space. It ends 2-1 for the Bianconeri at the Mapei Stadium.
ATALANTA 1-2 JUVENTUS
Scorers: Kulusevski 32 (J), Malinovskyi 42 (A), Chiesa 73 (J)
Atalanta: Gollini, Toloi (Djimsiti 76), Romero, Palomino, Hateboer (Iličić 76), de Roon, Freuler, Gosens (Miranchuk 83), Pessina (Pašalić 68), Malinovskyi (Muriel 68), Zapata. Bench: Rossi, Sportiello, Mæhle, Šutalo, Lammers, Caldara, Ruggeri. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Juventus: Buffon, Cuadrado, De Ligt, Chiellini, Danilo, McKennie, Bentancur, Rabiot, Chiesa (Dybala 74), Kulusevski (Bonucci 82), Cristiano Ronaldo. Bench: Szczesny, Pinsoglio, Arthur, Ramsey, Morata, Demiral, Bernardeschi, Frabotta. Coach: Andrea Pirlo.
Referee: Davide Massa from Imperia.
Assistants: Matteo Passeri from Gubbio and Alessandro Costanzo from Orvieto.
Fourth official: Marco Di Bello from Brindisi.
V.A.R.: Paolo Valeri from Roma 2.
A.V.A.R.: Mauro Vivenzi from Brescia.
Notes: Toloi sent off from the bench on 87, Malinovskyi (A), Romero (A), Freuler (A), de Roon (A), Iličić (A), Chiellini (J), de Ligt (J) booked.
