Bianconere leave it late against Lazio | OneFootball

Juventus Women First Team return from Formello with a very important victory in the first leg of the Italian Cup quarter-finals.

The Bianconere overcame Lazio 1-3 thanks to goals from Barbara Bonansea, Amalie Vangsgaard and Sofia Cantore. Once again - as was the case in the two league matches - the Bianconere managed to snatch victory in the closing minutes.

THE MATCH REPORT

Similarly to the league encounters between the two sides, this Coppa Italia tie was a very even affair in the opening stages.

One of the two teams, however, was certainly more threatening than the other, and that was Juventus, who came close in the first half-hour through Lindsey Thomas, Barbara Bonansea and Alisha Lehmann, but Kerttu Karresmaa was on hand to deny all three.

Less busy than her opposite number, Canadian Lysianne Proulx easily dealt with Noemi Visentin’s early effort.

As half-time drew nearer, the Bianconere applied even more pressure. Then, in the 34th minute, Bonansea finished a magnificent lob from outside the area to give Juve the lead. With eight minutes left of the half, the forward’s cross-shot caught Karresmaa off guard and ended up in the back of the net, 0-1.

Before the interval there was still time for another great Juventus opportunity: this time through Hanna Bennison, who hit a right-footed shot from outside the box, but her effort deflected just wide of the Biancoceleste right hand post.

That brought an end to the first half in Formello.

At the beginning of the second half, Bennison was again at the centre of proceedings: having been brilliantly picked out by Bonansea, the Swedish player was unable to beat Karresmaa and saw her final effort blocked by Federica D'Auria.

Having thwarted the threat at the beginning of the second half, Lazio began to fight back and, after Clarisse Le Bihan's miss from a good position and Proulx's save from another Visentin shot, they found the equalising goal thanks to Martina Piemonte's positioning. After a double deflection in Juventus' penalty area, the striker found herself in the right place at the right time and managed to divert the ball into the back of the net. 1-1.

The game was once again in the balance. For the first time in the match, the momentum seemed to be with the home side who, in fact, even came close to taking the lad, again through Piemonte. The Biancoceleste number 19 received the ball with her back to goal and was able to turn with skill before striking a powerful effort goalwards, however, she was denied by a super save from Proulx.

It was not an easy period of the match for Juventus, who, however, remained very organised and compact, and with half an hour to play they pressed forward and came close to beating Karresmaa once again through the electric Bonansea. This time the Bianconere number 11’s left-footed attempt was prevented by the goalkeeper.

The game evened out once again mid-way through the second period, with the hope that the reinforcements called upon from the benches by the two coaches could sway the result in their favour.

In the closing stages, of the two teams, it was the Biancoere who posed the biggest threat and in the 86th minute the Bianconere's pressure led to them taking the advantage via one of the substitutes: Amalie Vangsgaard. As was the case for the Lazio goal, Vangsgaard’s positioning was the decisive factor, as she latched onto of a fortuitous deflection in the penalty area and beat Karresmaa with her left-footed shot, making it 1-2, albeit only briefly. Briefly because, Sofia Cantore - another player who came on during the second half – got in on the action shortly afterwards, as she finished off a counter-attacking move to give Juve a 1-3 win.

MASSIMILIANO CANZI

“I have always said, even before this challenge, that we have a large and very valuable squad, made up of girls who know how to make an impact when called upon, and this aspect is certainly one of our strengths. With the five changes we change, practically half the team because five players are substituted. Finishing a game well is as important as starting it well. We expected a complicated match and that’s what it was. When the matches are so balanced you have to be more clinical in front of because otherwise you risk not winning matches where you have created so much.

“Bonansea? I think Barbara is a monument of Italian football. She has given a lot to Italian football, but she still has a lot to offer. At the moment she is very well both physically and mentally and we are happy to enjoy her best version.

“Cantore? Sofia is very young and still has plenty of room for improvement. In opem games we know how devastating she can be and she proved it again today. Goals like the one she scored today are her trademark.”

BARBARA BONANSEA

“It was a very important victory today, but there are still ninety minutes to play. We knew it was going to be another complicated match like the ones we have already played in the league, so we are very happy with this result. Personally I feel very good this year, I'm having fun and we're all having fun together. There is a beautiful atmosphere in the locker room and we try to bring our enthusiasm to every game we play.

“The goal? It was a bit accidental because, actually, mine was a cross, but in the end the ball took a strange trajectory and ended up in the goal.”

LAZIO 1-3 JUVENTUS WOMEN

Mirko Fersini Stadium, Wednesday 15 January, 2024 at 18:00 (CET) Women’s Coppa Italia – Quarter-Final – First Leg

Goals: 41’ Bonansea (J), 50’ Piemonte (L), 86’ Vangsgaard (J), 90+2’ Cantore (J)

Lazio: Karresmaa, D’Auria, Eriksen, Baltrip-Reyes (76’ Oliviero), Pittaccio, Castiello (62’ Goldoni), Benoit (63’ Simonetti), Zanoli (72’ Belloumou), Le Bihan, Visentin (76’ Kajan), Piemonte. Unused Substitutes: Cetinja, Connolly, Martinovic. Coach: Gianluca Grassadonia.

Juventus: Proulx, Calligaris, Rosucci, Boattin, Thomas, Bennison (68’ Caruso), Brighton (77’ Schatzer), Bergamaschi, Lehmann (68’ Vangsgaard), Girelli (76’ Cantore), Bonansea (89’ Kullberg). Unused Substitutes: Harviken, Peyraud-Magnin, Beccari, Cocino, Capelletti, Lenzini. Coach: Massimiliano Canzi.

Bookings: 32’ Castiello (L)

Next Match:

Roma-Juventus Women’s Serie A – Matchday 15 Sunday, 19January, 2024 at 15:30 (CET) Stadio Tre Fontane