Juventus Stun Fiorentina in Coppa Italia Semi-Final Thanks to Alessandro Matri

It was never going to be easy. After losing the first leg at Juventus Stadium 2-1, Serie A’s grand Old Lady knew that to eliminate Fiorentina and reach the final of the Coppa Italia would be an extremely difficult task.

Yet despite having not won the competition since 1995, the Bianconeri were seemingly determined to do just that.

“It’s been a long time since we won the Coppa Italia,” manager Massimiliano Allegri told fans during a Q&A session on the club’s official Twitter account last week. “We can overturn the first leg and will give our all to secure the trophy!”

The coach reiterated that claim at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, promising reporters he would “put my best team out on the field,” per Football Italia. While the 47-year-old also admitted that captain Gigi Buffon would be rested, it was clear that the club were seeking to end that 20-year barren run.

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However, as kick-off drew nearer, Juve’s hopes of playing their strongest XI were dealt two huge blows, the first of which was Carlos Tevez's return to Turin with “muscle fatigue,” as per the club’s official website.

Robbed of their leading scorer,they were dealt a further blow as Goal.com's Kris Voakes reported that Stephan Lichtsteiner pulled up in the warm-up and had to be replaced by Simone Padoin. Playing as a wing-back in the first leg, the latter had suffered a torrid time at the hands of Mohamed Salah, with the on-loan Chelsea star constantly getting the better of him.

That was clearly evident in the opening goal of that game, and the Egyptian had the ball in the net shortly after the opening whistle here too, only for the referee to rule out his effort for a foul in the buildup. Padoin would look far more assured this time around, seeing a penalty appeal go unrewarded after a clash with Jose Basanta, but it would not be long before another of Allegri’s backup players took centre stage.

The match was just 20 minutes old when Claudio Marchisio won possession from Borja Valero in midfield and fired it towards Alessandro Matri. He played it on for Alvaro Morata, and when the Spanish striker’s shot was charged down, Matri fired in the rebound and brought Juve level on aggregate.

It was Matri’s first goal since returning to Turin in January. He was brought in after the club agreed to allow Sebastian Giovinco to join Toronto FC six months early, the 30-year-old reuniting with Allegri, who coached him at both Cagliari and Milan in the past.

He had left Juventus 18 months earlier for San Siro, the Rossoneri paying €11 million for a player who would go on to score just once in 19 games before moving on to Fiorentina. Five goals and 21 matches later he would be on the move again, this time to Genoa, where he netted seven times before the Bianconeri stepped in.

Beppe Marotta told Rai Sport before the game that “Matri can play an important role in the tie tonight,” (h/t Football Italia), and Matri would make the director general’s words come true with a superb display at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

He linked well with Morata throughout the game but would not be the only unheralded member of the squad to get his name on the scoresheet, with Roberto Pereyra putting the Bianconeri firmly in control as he grabbed a second just before half-time.

Leonardo Bonucci added a third in the second half as Juventus ran out 3-0 winners on a night they were without not just Tevez but also Paul Pogba and Andrea Pirlo.

“Everyone’s capable of coming in and doing well because ours is a strong group, and we showed that at a tough venue,” Pereyra told reporters at full-time, per the club’s official website. “We prepared well during the week and were able to achieve an important result.”

They certainly did that on a night where they not only secured a place in the Coppa Italia final but also turned in a performance that proved there is far more to this team than just its star names.