Massimiliano Allegri says he could not ask for any more from his Juventus players after they booked their Coppa Italia final spot with a 3-0 aggregate victory over Fiorentina on Wednesday.
The Bianconeri claimed a 1-0 win in the first leg last month, and Federico Bernardeschi doubled their advantage in the tie with a fine finish shortly after the half-hour mark in the return fixture.
Danilo added a second deep into stoppage time at the end of the game as Juve reached their 21st Coppa Italia final – at least five more than any other side in the competition's history.
They will play Inter in the final at the Stadio Olimpico on May 11 after Simone Inzaghi's side overcame Milan in their last-four tie.
Juve did not have it all their own way, with Fiorentina taking 17 shots and enjoying 68.3 per cent possession, but Allegri was pleased with how his side bounced back from the disappointing 1-1 draw with Bologna at the weekend.
"I could not ask for more from these players, as for the last four months it's basically been the same players all the time. They're giving it everything out there," he told Mediaset.
"We should congratulate the lads, as reaching the final was an objective for the season. It had been a tough few days after the draw with Bologna, when we failed to make the most of many chances.
"Fiorentina are dangerous with their passing and pace if you give them a chance to run at you, but we did well to create those spaces in attack and defend well.
"This is football, we suffered and won. Those who came off the bench all did really well, we had a team spirit to reach this final.
"Now we must prepare for the next game in Serie A and try to recover some players."
Allegri's position as Juve boss has come under scrutiny in recent weeks, with some supporters unimpressed by the club's failure to challenge for the Serie A title.
While Allegri shares that frustration, he says he has every intention of being in the dugout as they look to launch a title bid next season.
"Juventus must always challenge to win," he added. "The thing that most disappoints me is losing the head-to-head with Inter, because that is the result that decided the league.
"Being five games from the end and not being in the Scudetto race does annoy me. It can be motivation for next season, we can learn from that experience and also realise that in football and life you can't always win."
Juve are next in action on Monday when they visit Sassuolo in Serie A.
Celtic’s European adventure ends with away loss to Lazio
Celtic crashed out of Europe for the season after a late double by super substitute Ciro Immobile gave Lazio a 2-0 Champions League win in Rome.
The Hoops went into the make-or-break game with one point from four Group E matches but gave as good as they got for most of the game before the home side’s veteran attacker struck in the 82nd and 85th minute to sink the Scottish champions.
To rub salt in the Celtic wounds they were awarded a penalty by Halil Umut Meler in added time for a push on substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu but it was overturned when VAR intervened and sent the referee to the pitchside monitor for another look.
Celtic remain bottom of the section and cannot catch Lazio, Atletico Madrid or Feyenoord.
Brendan Rodgers’ side play the Rotterdam team in their final tie at home next month but that will be their European swansong for another season.
The Hoops travelled to Rome knowing they needed a win to keep hope of progression in Europe alive.
Rodgers had stressed the importance of keeping 11 players on the field after having three players sent off in their two away games – Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm in the 2-0 defeat against Feyenoord and Daizen Maeda in the first half of their 6-0 thrashing in Madrid, with the latter and Luis Palma suspended.
Right-back Alistair Johnston, midfielder Paulo Bernardo and veteran winger James Forrest returned against a Lazio side whose coach Maurizio Sarri was under some pressure after defeat to bottom side Salernitana at the weekend saw them drop to 11th in Serie A.
The visitors made a decent fist of the first half without threatening too much, although after just four minutes Lazio keeper Ivan Provedel had to deal with a drive from Hoops striker Kyogo Furuhashi.
However, the best chance of the first half fell to Lazio’s Brazil international Felipe Anderson, who missed the target with a close-range header from a Matteo Guendouzi cross which ought to have tested Hoops keeper Joe Hart.
Furuhashi almost capitalised on some Lazio indecision in the penalty area between Provedel and defender Mario Gila before the Italian side got the ball to safety.
Both sides enjoyed spells of possession but neither keeper was properly tested again before the break.
Lazio started the second half with increased tempo but in the 49th minute Furuhashi flashed a shot across the far post on a Celtic break before Yang Hyun-jun headed a Forrest delivery back across goal trying to find Furuhashi when he might have tried to get it on target.
Meanwhile, Taty Castellanos twice headed over the bar at the other end and Gustav Isaksen squeezed a shot past the far post after a clever break into the Celtic box.
Immobile and Pedro Rodríguez came on for Anderson and Castellanos with Forrest making way for Mikey Johnston with striker Oh soon coming on for Bernardo to support Furuhashi.
The game began to heat up at both ends.
Lazio captain Luis Alberto lofted a shot over the bar with 10 minutes remaining but when Isaken’s drive was deflected into the path of Immobile he gleefully knocked it past Hart.
Minutes later, later, the Italy international outmuscled Liam Scales, turned inside Cameron Carter-Vickers and slotted in from close range again.
There was more drama in the three added minutes when Celtic were awarded a penalty for a Patric push on Oh but after being directed to his monitor, the Turkish official changed his mind and a chance of a consolation was gone.
Now, it is time again for Celtic to reflect on another European disappointment.
Rodrigo Bentancur set to be out until February after tearing an ankle ligament
Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is set to be out until February after tearing a ligament in his ankle, the PA news agency understands.
The 26-year-old was injured in a tackle from Aston Villa’s Matty Cash during Sunday’s 2-1 home Premier League defeat, and a scan on Tuesday confirmed the extent of the damage.
The Uruguay international was making his first start since returning from an ACL injury that had kept him out since February.
It represents a further blow for manager Ange Postecoglou, who is already contending with a lengthy list of absentees, with nine first-team players having been unavailable through injury or suspension for the Villa defeat.
That list includes summer signings James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, who were influential in Spurs’ unbeaten start to the season that saw them go top after eight games.
Both went off during the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea earlier in November and are likely to be out until January, while defender Cristian Romero is currently serving a three-game ban after being red-carded against the Blues.
Tottenham are on a run of three straight league defeats that has seen them slip from first to fifth.
Like father, like son – Shaqueel van Persie makes Youth League debut
Robin van Persie handed a UEFA Youth League debut to his son Shaqueel for Feyenoord on Tuesday.
Van Persie, the former Arsenal and Manchester United star, is now coaching Feyenoord's Under-18s team and the Under-19s team.
And while taking charge of the latter side in the Youth League, Van Persie handed his son Shaqueel his debut in the competition as a 56th-minute substitute against Atletico Madrid.
Van Persie junior could not help his father's team avoid defeat, however, with Iker Luque scoring the only goal of the game in the 81st minute.
Shaqueel the real deal?
Shaqueel van Persie made his European debut five years and 104 days after his father last played in a European match for Feyenoord, where he finished his career.
The 17-year-old, who was born during Van Persie's stint at Arsenal, began his youth career with Manchester City before moving to Feyenoord in 2017, a year before his father joined the same club.
He has already represented the Netherlands at Under-16 and Under-17 level.
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