Loading player
Juventus beat Atalanta 1-0 and won the Italian Cup. Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic scored in the fourth minute. It is the fifteenth Italian Cup that Juventus has won in its history, the fifth with Massimiliano Allegri as coach. Allegri, who was sent off at the end for some very emphatic protests, has become the most successful coach in this competition: he won the other four between 2015 and 2018, during his first experience at Juventus. This is the first trophy won by Juventus since Allegri returned to coach them in the summer of 2021.
The final was played at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. Despite Juventus being the most successful team in Italy, on this occasion Atalanta was considered favourites: something quite exceptional, especially if you think about the history of the two teams and how much the two clubs invest from an economic point of view (the Juventus’ salary amount, i.e. the sum of the salaries it pays its players, is more than double that of Atalanta). The reason is that Atalanta was coming off a period of much better form than Juventus.
However, Juventus scored almost immediately with an action that developed very quickly from the defense to the attack and ended with Vlahovic’s goal following a pass from the Italian winger Andrea Cambiaso. From that moment, Juventus was able to play a match suited to its characteristics, defending in a compact manner and starting on the counterattack with its attackers Chiesa and Vlahovic. In the second half, Atalanta hit the post with Nigerian striker Ademola Lookman, then Vlahovic’s 2-0 goal was disallowed for offside.
In the eight years with Gian Piero Gasperini as coach, Atalanta has become a team capable of competing with the strongest teams in Italy and Europe, but has yet to win a trophy. Against Juventus they lost their third Italian Cup final in recent seasons, after those lost in 2019 against Lazio and in 2021 against Juventus. However, on May 22nd they will have the opportunity to win a more prestigious cup, because they will play in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen.
– Read also: The Endless Revolution by Gian Piero Gasperini
