Cristiano Ronaldo Scores Twice As Juventus Hold Advantage Over Inter Milan In Coppa Italia Semis

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to fire Juventus to a 2-1 comeback win over Inter Milan in a hard-fought Coppa Italia semi-final first leg clash at San Siro on Tuesday.

Lautaro Martinez gave the home side an early lead but the Portuguese replied with a penalty before pouncing on a defensive mix-up to put the Turin club in front before halftime.

Inter, without suspended top scorer Romelu Lukaku, pushed for an equaliser but couldn’t find a way past 43-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. The Italian produced a superb save to deny Matteo Darmian on the 1,100th senior appearance of his career for club and country.

Nine players were booked in a fiery encounter as Andrea Pirlo’s side earned revenge for their 2-0 Serie A defeat in this fixture, known as the ‘Derby of Italy’, last month.

Juventus, who finished as runners-up last year, host the second leg in Turin on Tuesday, February the 9th and the winner will face Napoli or Atalanta in the final.