Rome: 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 an 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 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.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.
