Juventus 0-0 AC Milan: Ronaldo penalty miss goes unpunished as Rebic sees red in Coppa Italia semi-final

Juventus reached the Coppa Italia final for a record 19th time on Friday night with a 0-0 draw enough to see them past rivals AC Milan. 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty in the first leg was enough to send the Old Lady through on away goals, cancelling out Ante Rebic’s opener, although the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was unsuccessful from the spot in this one.

Rebic was once again at the centre of the action here, too, although this time it was for a reckless challenge on Danilo in the opening 20 minutes. The Croatia international was rightly sent off, leaving his side with a gargantuan task on their hands.

15': Juventus awarded a penalty through VAR
16': Cristiano Ronaldo hits the post from the spot
17': Ante Rebić is sent off for a reckless high foot

Welcome back, Italian football. 😳 pic.twitter.com/OoThZdEIYp

— Play Squawka Selector for Free (@Squawka_Live) June 12, 2020

So, how did the players rate in Turin?

Juventus

Gianluigi Buffon – 6 – Although Milan fought bravely and got into a number of promising positions, they failed to seriously test Buffon, who had a very quiet night.

Alex Sandro – 8 – Powered up and down the left flank all night, causing Milan all sorts of trouble with his powerful running and dangerous crossing. One of the best left-backs in Europe and didn’t look phased by the long break in play.

Matthijs de Ligt – 6 – Rarely tested defensively by an undermanned Milan side but came close to scoring himself on a couple of occasions, posing a serious set from set-pieces.

Leonardo Bonucci – 6 – Like De Ligt, had a relatively quiet night defensively and was tasked more with trying to progress the ball forward than keeping it away from his own goal.

Danilo – 7 – Pushed forward well and delivered a couple of dangerous crosses but never quite matched the attacking output of his compatriot on the other flank. Was absolute pole-axed by Rebic in the first half.

Blaise Matuidi – 6 – Full of industry and energy in the opening hour and was unlucky not to have created a big chance for Ronaldo to score in the second half, but Romagnoli recovered well to snuff it out.

Rodrigo Bentancur – 8 – Despite having a man advantage, Juve still had some defending to do in order to keep Milan at bay. Bentancur led the charge in that respect, making five tackles and working his socks off to disrupt the opposition.

Miralem Pjanic – 7 – His passing was as precise and exquisite as usual, keeping Juve ticking throughout the opening hour until Sarri looked to freshen things up.

Douglas Costa – 6 – Attempted more dribbles (8) than any other player and posed a decent threat to Milan but faded as the match went on.

Cristiano Ronaldo – 5 – Was denied from the spot by Donnarumma and attempted no fewer than nine shots throughout the match, though most of these were speculative efforts from the edge of the box that flew over the bar or straight into a Milan defender. That said, given the long break, Ronaldo looks sharp and should find his range soon.

13 – @juventusfc have fired 13 shots in the first half, only one fewer than they had in the whole reverse fixture against AC Milan. Gun.#CoppaItalia #JuveMilan pic.twitter.com/S9MUffVNSE

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) June 12, 2020

Paulo Dybala – 7 – Has a wicked left foot and delivered some very dangerous balls into the Milan box. Was denied from distance a couple of times by Donnarumma.

Subs: 

Sami Khedira (for Pjanic, 62 mins) – 6 – A steady cameo performance from the experienced German.

Adrien Rabiot (for Matuidi, 62 mins) – 6 – Picked up where Matuidi left off, providing a real engine in the middle for Juve.

Federico Bernardeschi (for Douglas Costa, 62 mins) – 6 – Had little effect on the match during the 30 minutes he was on the pitch.

Juan Cuadrado (for Danilo, 86 mins) – 6 – Brought on late to provide fresh legs down the right, but didn’t have enough time to change the game.

AC Milan

Gianluigi Donnarumma – 8 – Did brilliantly to get down and get his fingertips to Ronaldo’s penalty. His style of goalkeeping is unorthodox but extremely effective.

Andrea Conti – 6 – Incredibly unlucky to have a penalty given against him for handball, but was bailed out by his goalkeeper. Conti didn’t let that early set-back get to him, continuing to work up and down the right flank to support his side at both ends of the pitch.

Simon Kjaer – 8 – Defended excellently as Juve kept on pushing, often knicking the ball right off the head of the opposition when a goal looked certain. Had a great chance to settle the tie in the final 15 minutes, though, which he will possibly look back on with a hint of regret in the coming days.

Alessio Romagnoli – 9 – Defended with grace, poise and the heart of a lion throughout, keeping Ronaldo under wraps and making some vital last-ditch tackles. A brilliant captain’s performance from the Italy international who can count himself unlucky to be exiting the Coppa Italia.

Davide Calabria – 6 – Had a tough night with Dybala constantly drifting onto his flank but stood his ground and defended well.

Ismael Bennacer – 8 – Put in a real shift in front of the Milan defence, slowing down Juve attacks and then providing a platform for his side to build through once the ball was recovered. Completed more passes (59) than any other Milan player in what was a very busy performance.

Franck Kessie – 8 – Like Bennacer, put in a great shift in the middle for Milan, shuttling across the pitch to win back possession and helping his side break when they could.  A CIES study recently named Kessie as Milan’s most valuable player and Friday night’s game gave us all a glimpse of why.

Lucas Paqueta – 7 – Had made more tackles (8) than any other player on the pitch by the time he was substituted in the 82nd minute, illustrating just how much work Milan’s midfield had to get through. Looked dangerous on a number of occasions but just lacked that decisive pass or shot.

Giacomo Bonaventura – 6 – Worked a couple of decent openings following Rebic’s sending off but was sacrificed as Rafael Leao was introduced to give Milan a more natural threat up front.

Hakan Calhanoglu – 7 – Produced some great deliveries from set-pieces and came close to splitting the Juve defence on a few occasions.

Ante Rebic – 1 – Touched the ball just once — an unsuccessful pass — before pressing the self-destruct button and flying in on Danilo like a ninja. Clearly, he’s been working on his Nigel de Jong impression during lockdown. Rebic was rightfully sent off for the offence, leaving his teammates with an absolute mountain to climb.

An absolutely crazy minute in the #CoppaItalia! 😱

Cristiano Ronaldo hits the post from the penalty spot…

Seconds later Ante Rebic sees red for a wild kung-fu challenge on Danilo! pic.twitter.com/9vfFvLRu5Y

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) June 12, 2020

Subs: 

Rafael Leao (for Bonaventura, 52 mins) – 5 – Brought on to provide a more natural strike threat for Milan but was often crowded out thanks to Juve’s numerical advantage.

Rade Krunic (for Kessie, 82 mins) – 6 – Brought on late but could do little to change the match.

Lorenzo Colombo (for Paqueta, 82 mins) – 6 – Given his senior debut in the final 10 minutes but couldn’t impose himself on the game.

Diego Laxalt (for Calabria, 88 mins) – 6 – A late, unsuccessful throw of the dice.

Alexis Saelemaekers (for Conti, 88 mins) – 6 – Had one chance in the box at the end but was penalised for a foul.