Arkadiusz Milik scored a hat-trick as Juventus swept aside Frosinone 4-0 to book their place in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
Massimiliano Allegri celebrated his 400th game as Bianconeri coach and handed a start to Turkish teenager Kenan Yildiz alongside Milik in attack, with Dusan Vlahovic on the bench after battling illness.
Juve took an early lead in the 11th minute through a penalty from Milik.
Fabio Miretti weaved into the Frosinone area and was sandwiched between two defenders, with Pol Lirola tripping him as he slid in from behind.
Following a VAR review, the spot-kick stood and Milik coolly sent goalkeeper Michele Cerofolini the wrong way.
Miretti continued to be a threat down the left and saw his cutback blocked before Filip Kostic’s effort from the rebound was hacked clear.
Juve went 2-0 up in the 38th minute through a swift counter-attack, which was started and finished by Milik.
The Poland striker played a deep diagonal ball out to the left to Weston McKennie from just inside his own half before then sprinting on down the right.
The American held up possession before clipping an angled pass back through the penalty box, where Milik arrived at the far post to sweep the ball past Cerofolini.
The Frosinone keeper saved from Timothy Weah’s drive towards the end of the half as Juve looked to put the tie to bed ahead of the break.
Milik completed his hat-trick three minutes into the second half when Frosinone were caught playing out from the back and Manuel Locatelli squared for the Poland striker to tap in.
Milik, who went into the game having not scored since early October, thought he had a fourth just before the hour when he flicked in a low cross after a corner had not been cleared, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
It was soon 4-0, though, as 18-year-old Yildiz acrobatically volleyed in another brilliant deep cross from McKennie out on the right.
Frosinone, who had pulled off a 4-0 win over Napoli in the last round, eventually caused some concern in the Juve penalty area when substitute Enzo Barrenechea glanced a header from a corner straight at keeper Mattia Perin.
Juve substitute Hans Nicolussi Caviglia sent a long-range effort over the crossbar before Cerofolini saved from Andrea Cambiaso after a surging run.
Yildiz was given a breather for the closing stages, with Belgian teenager Joseph Nonge Boende coming on, as Allegri’s side marched through to a two-legged semi-final against Lazio.
Eve takes heart from friendlies against Guyana; reiterates call for support ahead of tough World Cup qualifiers
Trinidad and Tobago’s Head coach Angus Eve welcomed the outcome of their two-match friendly series against Guyana, but in the same breath, says he is bracing for even tougher assignments when kick off the 2026 World Cup qualifiers next month.
Though pleased that a few local-based players gave him much to think about in their 2-1 and 2-0 win over Jamaal Shabazz’s Guyana outfit, Eve again rued Trinidad and Tobago’s citizenship laws, which he believes puts them at a slight disadvantage against regional opponents, who have the luxury of importing heritage players from elsewhere around the world.
As such, Eve, who used the Guyana fixtures to fine-tune tactics and expose more players to the national team, is hoping to get the necessary support to spur his Soca Warriors on throughout the World Cup qualifying campaign, which gets under way against Grenada on June 5.
“I think when we used to play before, going against Grenada was a foregone conclusion,” Eve said as he reminisced on the twin island republic ‘s dominance in the past.
“But the immigration laws in this country do not help us. We do know Grenada has a lot of players coming back from England. They might not be the quality as those for Jamaica, but we do know they have a lot of those sort of players coming back,” he reasoned during a post-match interview.
Eve and his men will also have St Kitts and Nevis, Costa Rica and The Bahamas to contend with in Group B.
Former Soca Warriors and Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke recently joined the call for a review in the citizenship laws, which states that “A person shall not become a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, if at the time of his birth – (a) neither of his parents is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago.” Until such changes are made, both Yorke and Eve believe Trinidad and Tobago will remain on the backfoot when compared to other nations.
“So, we need the 12th man to be on board with us. The guys are going to come out and give everything that they have, so it’s just for the fans to come out and support the team. The 23 players and the TTFA alone can’t qualify. We need support from corporate, the Government, the fans, the normal man in the street, because when the team does qualify, then all of us will be celebrating as a nation. So, we need a national effort to qualify,” Eve stated.
That said, the tactician quickly pointed out that the team still has much to do in terms of their technical and tactical efficiency, particularly those local players who might be included in the final squad.
“I think it could have been a bigger scoreline (against Guyana). We gave some sloppy chances, and we have to alleviate those problems when we play the next team,” Eve declared.
He named midfielders Matthew Woo Ling and Daniel David and veteran striker Kevon “Showtime” Woodley, who scored in both games, among those that impressed against the Jaguars.
“I thought when we put them on in the second half, it changed the game, and we got a little bit more tempo and we got more penetration. So, very happy for these guys. They got the opportunity and I thought that they grasped it with both hands. A number of them gave us some stuff to think about, so there is a lot of positive,” Eve noted.
Ten Hag unconcerned by Fernandes' fitness ahead of Man Utd's trip to Brighton
Erik ten Hag is not worried about Bruno Fernandes' fitness ahead of Manchester United's final game of the Premier League season.
Fernandes impressed in an attacking midfield role in United's 3-2 win over Newcastle on Wednesday.
The Portugal international was forced off through injury late on, yet Ten Hag is not overly concerned.
"Bruno didn't miss so much and he's fit," Ten Hag told United's media channels.
"I would say that is one of my least concerns, if he can keep going. He's fresh and he's in very good form but the others you mentioned, it's important [to get game time].
"They missed some games. [Marcus] Rashford, of course. [Lisandro] Martinez missed, I would say, almost the whole season. So every minute that he can get, we have to give him."
Should United win, and Newcastle fail to beat Brentford, then the Red Devils will be guaranteed European football next season, even if they lose the FA Cup final when they face Manchester City at Wembley on May 25.
Ten Hag's future is uncertain, but Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi pointed to United's injury issues as a main factor in their frustrating campaign.
"They have suffered a lot of injuries, problems, but they are still a very good team," he said.
"Ten Hag's Ajax team has been one of the best in quality of play. For United, this season, it's been tough playing without a lot of important players."
Brighton are entrenched in mid-table after failing to match the same heights they managed last season.
However, two of their players - Pascal Gross and striker Denis Undav, who is on loan at Stuttgart - were on Thursday called up for Germany's Euro 2024 squad.
De Zerbi said: "I am happy for Undav. He is becoming a great player. Pascal is not a surprise - he deserves to play for the national team."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brighton - James Milner
James Milner has appeared in the final game in 16 different Premier League campaigns – if he plays in this match, he’ll be the first player in the competition's history to do so in 17 different seasons.
Manchester United - Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes has created 113 chances in the Premier League this season, 14 more than any other player. He also created the most chances last season (119) and is the first player to do so in back-to-back seasons since Eden Hazard in 2013-14 (93) and 2014-15 (100).
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
In their first 19 Premier League matches this season, Brighton were the fifth-highest scorers in the Premier League (38 goals) and had a conversion rate of 13.3 per cent. In their last 18 games since the turn of the year, only Everton (15) have scored fewer goals than the Seagulls (17), with their conversion rate of 6.6 per cent the worst of any side in this time.
United have lost their final league game in two of the last five seasons (W3), as many times as they had in the previous 33 campaigns (W23 D8).
Brighton have lost their final game in four of their six Premier League campaigns, with the exceptions being a 2-1 win at Burnley (2019-20) and a 3-1 home win v West Ham (2021-22).
Brighton have won each of their last four Premier League games against United – the last side to beat the Red Devils in five consecutive league games was Norwich City between 1988 and 1990.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brighton - 35.4%
Man Utd - 35.9%
Draw - 28.7%
Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids: Armas targets Rocky Mountain Cup
Chris Armas is desperate to claim early-season silverware in the form of the Rocky Mountain Cup as the Colorado Rapids prepare to visit rivals Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The Rapids are flying high in fourth in the Western Conference standings, four points adrift of top side RSL after 13 matches.
They should approach Saturday's derby in good spirits after their 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in midweek, while they have already beaten RSL once this season – by a 2-1 scoreline on the road in early March.
"I wish we were hosting this one, the Rocky Mountain Cup is such an important thing to us and to our fans," Armas said.
"It'd be nice if we maybe played one at home and one on the road. Two on the road is tricky but it is what it is.
"We have the slight edge at the moment but we have work to do, to go there and get the trophy. You can go through an entire season and not play for a trophy, and now we are."
RSL boss Pablo Mastroeni represented Colorado for 11 years of his playing career then coached them for three years upon his retirement, but he feels he has come a long way since then.
"I think the biggest thing is my evolution as a person. When I first got into coaching, I'd just finished my career and threw myself into the deep waters," Mastroeni said.
"Over time you understand your game model and the way you want to play the game. These things take time, and it's really broadened my perspective."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Andres Gomez
Gomez scored his fifth goal of the season in Real Salt Lake's 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday.
He and Cristian Arango (11) have now combined for 16 goals this MLS campaign, the only team-mates to combine for more are Inter Miami's Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez (21).
Colorado Rapids – Rafael Navarro
Navarro scored the game's only goal in Colorado's win over Vancouver, becoming the first Rapids player since Diego Rubio in 2022 to score in three straight regular-season matches.
The only Rapids player in the last 12 years to score in four straight league games was Kei Kamara in 2019.
MATCH PREDICTION – REAL SALT LAKE WIN
The Rapids ended a seven-match losing streak in the Rocky Mountain Cup (two draws, five defeats) with a 2-1 victory at Real Salt Lake on March 9.
However, they haven't won two in a row against RSL since a pair of victories in September 2006 and April 2007.
Real Salt Lake have won three of their last four home matches, drawing the other and keeping clean sheets in all of those games. The Rapids are the only visiting team to win at America First Field this year, but RSL may just get their revenge this weekend.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake – 49.2%
Colorado Rapids – 23.3%
Draw – 27.5%
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