AC Milan beats Torino to set up Cup meeting with Juventus
DUSHANBE, 13.01.2017. /NIAT “Khovar”/. AC Milan came back from a goal down to beat Torino 2-1 on Thursday and set up a meeting with Juventus in the Italian Cup quarterfinals, TSN reports.
After Andrea Belotti put Torino ahead, Juraj Kucka and Giacomo Bonaventura responded for Milan in a three-minute span of the second half.
«We were slow in the first half. In the second we accelerated and the pace of the match slowed down, enabling our quality to emerge,» Bonaventura said.
Milan has beaten Juventus twice this season, once in Serie A and more recently on penalties in the Italian Super Cup last month, while Juventus defeated Milan in last season’s Italian Cup final.
Juventus eliminated Atalanta 3-2 on Wednesday.
It was a tale of two halves at San Siro Stadium.
Torino dominated the opening period and Belotti finished off a swift counterattack, beating Milan’s 17-year-old goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, with one touch.
It was a measure of revenge for Belotti, who had a penalty saved in stoppage time of a 3-2 loss on the Serie A opening weekend in August.
Shortly after the hour mark, Kucka equalized by redirecting in a cross near the far post and then Bonaventura connected on a volley from the centre of the area to beat England goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Hart was playing with his head in a bandage by that point, having taken a boot to the face from Milan forward Gianluca Lapadula.
Donnarumma restored order with Belotti by denying the Italy forward of a potential equalizer with his boot in the 69th, and Torino ended with 10 men when Antonio Barreca picked up his second yellow.
Lapadula dribbled past Hart in added time but had his shot cleared off the line by Torino defender Emiliano Moretti.
On Monday, Milan visits Torino in Serie A.