An extra-time winner by Alessandro Matri kept Juventus on track for the treble as the Serie A champions ended a 20-year wait for a Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) final victory with a 2-1 win over Lazio on Wednesday.
Juventus were stunned after just four minutes when Stefan Radu rose to beat Marco Storari with a powerful header from a free-kick after Paul Pogba had given away a needless foul on the right flank.
Juve got back on level terms thanks to Giorgio Chiellini’s half-volley in the 10th minute.
The match finished all square after 90 minutes but Matri, back on loan at Juve after being sold to AC Milan in 2013, made the difference when he latched on to Carlos Tevez’s lay-off inside the area to bundle past Etrit Berisha in the Lazio net.
Juve held on to their lead amid a tense second period of extra-time to send the black and white half of the Stadio Olimpico into raptures as the champions secured their first league and cup double since 1995.
“It’s our first cup trophy in 20 years, so it’s obviously special for us,” said Matri.
Juve now just have to focus on the Champions League final against Barcelona in Berlin on June 6 to complete their season and emulate the treble feats of Inter Milan, in 2010.
“It was a great final,” said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri. “Now we just have to keep our focus until June 6.
“We’ll go to Berlin having won the league and the cup, but Barcelona are in great form, just as we are.”
Allegri was missing midfielder Claudio Marchisio and striker Alvaro Morata through suspension, and was also without No 1 goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, whose absence was felt almost immediately when Storari struggled to reach Radu’s powerful header from a free-kick on the right.
Yet Juventus, who beat Lazio 3-0 and 2-0 in their Serie A encounters this season, were soon back on level terms.
The fingers of blame had pointed at Chiellini after Radu’s opener, but the big Juve defender was in the right place at the right time when Andrea Pirlo fired in a free-kick from 25 metres out on 10 minutes.
Pirlo’s curling delivery was headed into the area by Pogba and Chiellini was left enough space to connect and beat Berisha with a close-range volley.
Fernando Llorente fired a header just over Berisha’s bar and after Pirlo saw a free-kick blocked and what followed displayed Lazio’s threat on the counter.
Brazilian Felipe Anderson carried the ball all the way through the Juve midfield to offload for Danilo Cataldi, forcing Buffon to go down low to collect.
Chances were few in a far more tense second half and Lazio striker Miroslav Klose was almost invisible before being replaced by Filip Djordjevic seven minutes from time.
Instead, Antonio Candreva and Anderson were running the show for Rome club, albeit with little reward.
Allegri replaced Pogba with Roberto Pereyra on 78 minutes and his freshness told immediately, the Argentine tracking back to dispossess Anderson as the Brazilian held possession in a dangerous three-on-three.
Lazio spurned a great chance to claim a late winner, however, when Djordjevic made a complete mess of a one-on-one with Storari.
Matri, who replaced Llorente six minutes from time, had the ball in the net moments after his arrival only for the goal to be ruled offside.
Lazio spurned another great chance to clinch the cup when Djordjevic turned and fired a drive which beat Storari only to come off the near post and rebound across the goalmouth.
But Matri, who has played for four different clubs since joining Juventus in 2011, made the most of his opportunity.
Tevez did well to control a long ball and drew two defenders before laying off for Matri to fire inside Berisha’s near post and send the Curva Nord into raptures.
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MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
SPECS
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder petrol (V Class); electric motor with 60kW or 90kW powerpack (EQV)
Power: 233hp (V Class, best option); 204hp (EQV, best option)
Torque: 350Nm (V Class, best option); TBA (EQV)
On sale: Mid-2024
Price: TBA
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre, twin-turbo V6
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 410hp
Torque: 495Nm
Price: starts from Dh495,000 (Dh610,000 for the F-Sport launch edition tested)
On sale: now
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
The biog
Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Fixtures - Open Men 2pm: India v New Zealand, Malaysia v UAE, Singapore v South Africa, Sri Lanka v England; 8pm: Australia v Singapore, India v Sri Lanka, England v Malaysia, New Zealand v South Africa
Fixtures - Open Women Noon: New Zealand v England, UAE v Australia; 6pm: England v South Africa, New Zealand v Australia
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The team
Videographer: Jear Velasquez
Photography: Romeo Perez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Models: Meti and Clinton at MMG
Video assistant: Zanong Maget
Social media: Fatima Al Mahmoud
The specs
Engine: Twin electric motors and 105kWh battery pack
Power: 619hp
Torque: 1,015Nm
Transmission: Single-speed auto
Touring range: Up to 561km
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
Price: From Dh635,000
AIDA RETURNS
Director: Carol Mansour
Starring: Aida Abboud, Carol Mansour
Rating: 3.5./5
