Coppa Italia "TIM Cup" semi-finals!
Posted 07. april 2015
The Serie A leader was beaten 2-1 by Vincenzo Montella's side last month, leaving Allegri's side needing victory by two clear goals to progress to the final. However, Allegri does not want his side to go all-out and leave itself at risk of a counter-attack, instead calling for a calm performance. "We have to go to Florence to try to overturn the negative result from the first leg," said Allegri. "It won't be easy. At the moment, they're the favourites, as they have the [first leg] result in their favour. They're going through a good spell, playing good football and getting excellent results, so we'll have to play an intelligent game. We know that we're facing a team with great technique, which plays well, but we also know that we don't have to immediately win the game in the first half hour. It will be a long game, so a good performance and calm heads are required." Juve is looking to make their first Coppa Italia final since 2012 in their hunt to win the competition for the first time in 20 years.
Manolo Gabbiadini's second-half equaliser was enough to rescue a 1-1 draw for Coppa Italia holder Napoli, as it battled back against Lazio in the first leg of the semi-final at the Stadio Olimpico. Having hit the post early on, Miroslav Klose was on hand to break the deadlock just after the half-hour mark on Wednesday during a commanding first-half performance from Stefano Pioli's men. But the defending champion - which beat Fiorentina in last year's showpiece - battled back courtesy of Gabbiadini's tap-in, after some great work from Gonzalo Higuain. The result will likely be seen as a missed opportunity for Lazio, who will now most likely need to record a first win in six years at Stadio San Paolo to make the final.
