Simone Zaza Walks Fine Line but Helps Juventus to Coppa Italia Win over Torino

Having looked on as AS Roma and Genoa were eliminated by lower-league opposition, Juventus could be forgiven for being nervous as they hosted cross-town rivals Torino in a Coppa Italia clash on Wednesday evening.

The last-16 tie saw the two clubs meet for the second time in as many months, with the Bianconeri following up October’s Serie A victory with a comfortable 4-0 win. While fielding many of his first-choice XI, Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri took the opportunity to give some underused players an outing here.

Neto replaced skipper Gigi Buffon in goal, while Andrea Barzagli, Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala also dropped to the bench. Daniele Rugani was given his first start and seized his chance, overcoming some early nerves to turn in a mature performance on the right of the three-man defence.

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In attack, Allegri opted to pair Alvaro Morata and Simone Zaza, with the latter arguably becoming the key figure in a contest that was filled with niggling fouls throughout. The former Atalanta and Sampdoria striker was the first man to go into referee Daniele Doveri's book, his yellow card coming after 23 minutes.

Moments after that challenge on Bruno Peres, Zaza slid into Torino goalkeeper Salvador Ichazo as he chased a loose ball. Perhaps fortunate not to see the officials take further action, he would get his name on the scoresheet, volleying home a cross from Morata, who had worked well to create space on the left flank.

The 24-year-old would continue to harass the Granata defence with sheer physicality, shoving over Kamil Glik soon after his goal, much to the ire of the visiting supporters. The poor tackles continued as the first half drew to a close, with both Afriyie Acquah and Cristian Molinaro seeing their names going into the book.

Sadly for Torino, the break did little to calm the proceedings and the latter of that duo—himself a former Juventus player—would be given a second yellow for a late challenge on Stephan Lichtsteiner. The Bianconeri would punish the error further still: The Granata failed to clear the set piece, and the ball fell to Zaza.

With a neat touch to bring the ball onto his favoured left foot, he would grab another goal, taking his tally for the club to five in just 10 appearances. Six of those matches saw him earn only limited minutes as a substitute, playing under 400 minutes since arriving from Sassuolo during the summer transfer window.

Dybala and Paul Pogba would add to the score line, with the home side ensuring that they did not add their names to the list of cup upsets already recorded this week, and Zaza was quick to praise the team’s efforts after the final whistle.

“I am very happy, every one of us put in a great performance tonight,” he told reporters after the game, per the club’s official website. “It was a big win for us because we have continued our great form, advanced to the next round in the Coppa Italia and a derby win is always a derby win!”

With three competitions to keep the fixture list busy, the Bianconeri will need as many regular goalscorers as possible, and while Zaza lived on the edge against Torino, he could prove invaluable as the campaign progresses.