Shameful Juventus out of the Cup

With the way they’ve been playing, Juventus deserved this. Thiago Motta arrived as the long-awaited savior of the Old Lady, but so far, he has only managed to set the Turin giant back. Even the Cup is no longer an option to salvage the season, as Juventus was eliminated in the quarterfinals after a poor penalty shootout against Empoli – 2:4 (1:1).

The biggest casualty of this disastrous result may be Serbia's national team striker, Dušan Vlahović. The powerful forward was in Thiago Motta’s starting lineup, but nothing went his way. He missed several huge chances during the 90 minutes that could have settled the game earlier, and his nightmare evening was compounded by a missed penalty in the first round of the shootout. Later, Gatti also failed to convert, while the visitors from Tuscany were clinical from the spot.

Everything pointed to a Juve disaster. Even though Thiago Motta fielded a strong team, pairing Kolo Muani with Dušan Vlahović, the result was the same as many times this season—disappointing. There was no great tactical vision from the black-and-whites, and the home team had to chase an equalizer from the middle of the first half. It wasn’t even a particularly dangerous attack, but Juventus carelessly lost the ball in a risky area. Maleh controlled it, set himself up, and then sent a shot into Juve’s net.

Juventus pushed hard for an equalizer. And it’s almost unbelievable how Arsenal‘s potential striker didn’t score in the second half. When he ran from midfield alone—he looked slow. When he received the ball in dangerous areas—his reactions were off. He tested Empoli’s goalkeeper multiple times, but he was having one of those goal-scoring days when nothing goes your way. In the end, he sent the ball high over the crossbar, boosting the confidence of Empoli’s penalty takers. Henderson, Kouamé, Kakace, and Marinanucci all converted their penalties, paving the way for Empoli’s passage to the semifinals.

COPPA ITALIA - QUARTER-FINALS

Tuesday

Inter - Lazio 2-0 (1-0)

/Arnautovic 39, Calhanoglu 77 pen/

Wednesday

Juventus - Empoli 1-1 (0-1) 2-4 on pen

/Thuram 66 - Maleh 24/