Juve dethroned in Italian Cup as Roma meet Milan in final

MILAN: Holders Juventus crashed out of the women’s Italian Cup on away goals in the semi-finals on Sunday despite beating Roma in the second leg.

Juventus beat Roma 3-2 at home but the side from the capital advanced on away goals as the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate. They will meet AC Milan in the final on May 30.

Rita Guarino’s Juve had to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit and took the lead through a Sofie Pedersen header after 18 minutes in Turin.

But Roma’s Lindsey Thomas tapped in from close range after 77 minutes and a Paloma Lazaro header five minutes later sent the visitors through despite two injury-time goals for Juventus.

On Saturday, Milan beat city rivals Inter 4-2 in the other semi-final for a 5-4 aggregate win, having lost the first leg 2-1.

Juventus won the trophy in 2019 but last year’s edition was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Turin giants have dominated Italian women’s football since being founded in 2017 with three league titles and are on course for a fourth this campaign.