Juventus, which is going through a particularly difficult time, was able to advance to the semifinals of the Italian Cup by beating Lazio 1-0 on Thursday in the duel that closed the quarterfinals.
Argentine Ángel Di María came on as a substitute when the match ended, while Leandro Paredes and Matías Soulé were not part of coach Massimiliano Allegri's squad.
The only goal of the game in Turin was signed by the Brazilian Gleison Bremer (minute 44), with a header from the Serbian Filip Kostic's cross.
It was the best chance of the first part and in the second the score did not move.
Moise Kean was close to extending the 'Juve' account in minute 70, after a ball served by the Colombian Juan Cuadrado, but the Portuguese goalkeeper Luis Maximiano was attentive.
This victory allows
Juventus
to take a breather and gives the club hope to end the season with a title, the 'Coppa', since in Serie A it has been relegated to thirteenth place after receiving a penalty of fifteen points for accounting fraud.
But
the scenario could be even worse.
According to information from the renowned local media, Corriere dello Sport, Juve could receive a new sports sanction within a month.
It would be another point discount, this time 20, which at this time would leave it at the bottom of the table, with only 3 units and 15 from the last team that is currently saving the category, Spezia.
In the Italian league, Juventus have collected just one point in the last three games (one draw, two losses) and this Coppa Italia win reinforces their confidence ahead of Tuesday's crucial visit to Salernitana (14th), in the match that will close the 21st day of Serie A, which begins on Saturday.
"We had just lost to Monza, so it was not an easy situation for us. Now we have managed to lay the foundations to also regain form in the league," said the Juventus coach.
In the semifinals, a round that will already be played with round-trip matches, Juventus will face Inter Milan led by Lautaro Martínez and Joaquín Correa, who opened the quarterfinal round on Tuesday by beating Atalanta 1-0, thanks a bit from Matteo Darmian.
Inter is the current Italian Cup champion, recently won the Italian Super Cup and is second in Serie A, so it is emerging as the favorite among the teams that survive in the competition.
The other semifinal of the tournament will be played by Fiorentina and the surprising Cremonese.
The latter, bottom of Serie A without having won any game in twenty days, gave the big surprise of this round by winning 2-1 on Wednesday against Roma, a team that is fighting for the Champions League places .
The Cremonese surprised by taking the lead in that match with goals from Cyril Desser (28 from a penalty) and Zeki Celik (49).
Roma could barely cut short at 90+4, with a late goal from Andrea Belotti.
For its part, Fiorentina qualified for the 'semis' after beating Torino 2-1, also on Wednesday.
The Serbian striker Luka Jovic opened the score in that duel on Wednesday (65) and the French Jonathan Ikone sentenced at 90. Torino already achieved their goal at 90 + 3, through the Ivorian Yann Karamoh.
With information from Agencies