Juventus kept alive their hopes of silverware this season with a 2-0 first-leg win in their Coppa Italia semi-final against Lazio.
Front two Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic scored in the early part of the second half to break open a previously underwhelming encounter at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.
The two sides also met in Serie A on Saturday, Lazio winning that game 1-0 with a stoppage-time goal from Adam Marusic, but Massimiliano Allegri’s side successfully turned the tables as he chases a record fifth Coppa Italia as coach to break a tie with Roberto Mancini and Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Lazio lost Mattia Zaccagni to injury just 10 minutes in after he was caught by Federico Gatti – and were grateful things did not get worse even before substitute Gustav Isaksen was able to enter the pitch.
Matias Vecino was harshly penalised after catching Andrea Cambiaso in his own area, the Juventus player leaping across him as he cleared the ball, but VAR overruled the penalty decision due to Cambiaso being offside when Vlahovic headed towards goal.
Isaksen saw one long-range effort blocked and another deflected behind by Danilo for a corner and Felipe Anderson ripped a 25-yard drive well over.
Cambiaso failed to control a deft return ball from Chiesa, costing Juve one of their few clear sights of goal in the first half, and they will be without defender Gatti for April 23’s return leg due to suspension after he was booked for a foul on Isaksen.
Luis Alberto headed Patric’s cross against the bar, with keeper Mattia Perin a touch uncertain under the looping ball, and Adrien Rabiot’s powerful 20-yard volley was straight at Christos Mandas in the Lazio goal as the half ended scoreless.
Nicolo Casale replaced Patric at half-time but the visitors soon fell behind when Manuel Locatelli did well to keep the ball alive and Cambiaso’s brilliant long pass cut the Lazio midfield and defence out of the game for Chiesa to finish clinically.
Locatelli blasted just wide after a rapid break, though a free-kick was given against Chiesa in any case, but Vlahovic soon made it 2-0 after turning Casale inside out.
Gatti headed just wide from Filip Kostic’s corner, conceded by Casale’s excellent tackle as Chiesa appealed in vain for a penalty, before Lazio boss Igor Tudor sought to change things with the introductions of Taty Castellanos and Daichi Kamada.
Juve substitutes Kenan Yildiz and Timothy Weah combined with Vlahovic to create a chance that was snuffed out by Mandas and Yildiz fired an ambitious effort well wide in the closing stages.
Postecoglou praises Pochettino's success at Spurs
Ange Postecoglou says Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham was a success despite him not winning any trophies.
Spurs will face their former manager’s Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, with both teams needing points in the race for a top-seven finish.
Pochettino led Spurs to a Champions League final and three consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League during his five-year spell between 2014 and 2019.
The Argentinian failed to lift a trophy in his time at the club, but Postecoglou thinks it is unfair to use that as a baseline for Pochettino’s success.
"I mean it's a funny one you know because if all we measure sort of success on is just trophies, then okay. You know, but I don't think that's what life's about,” he said.
"I think anyone who doesn't think that Mauricio's five and a half years here were successful, doesn't really appreciate, I think, football for what it is because, you know, to get to the Champions League final, to, you know, come runners-up in the toughest league in the world.
"There's no silverware but in my mind, particularly the way he developed that group, I think he was a success.
"This is the business we're in and we get measured by – most of us get measured by other things so we've got to accept that."
Spurs have not won a trophy this season, but they are still in the race for a Champions League spot and sit seven points behind Aston Villa with two games in hand.
Asked about his own success in his first season at the club, he added: "They're not questions I need to ask, or I need to sort of investigate.
"As I said, I go by what I see now, today, what's important to me today. What's important to me is how the lads train and get ready for a big game."
Rangnick turns down Bayern to stay in Austria job
Ralf Rangnick has confirmed he will remain in charge of Austria's national team beyond Euro 2024, having turned down Bayern Munich's interest.
Rangnick confirmed last week that Bayern had been in touch regarding the possibility of him taking over ahead of next season.
Bayern are aiming to fill an impending void, with current coach Thomas Tuchel set to leave the club at the end of the campaign.
But Rangnick has now confirmed he will be staying put, though he insisted he did not "reject" Bayern.
"I am national team coach of Austria with all my heart," he said in a statement released by the Austrian Football Association (OFB).
"This task brings me a lot of joy and I am determined to continue down the road we have started.
"I want to clearly stress that this is not a rejection of Bayern Munich but rather a decision for my team and our common goals."
"We are fully focused on the Euro. We will do everything we can to go far."
There have been calls from some Bayern fans for Tuchel to stay in charge, with some going as far as to sign a petition.
Bayern wanted to appoint Xabi Alonso as Tuchel's successor, but the former midfielder has elected to stay with Bayer Leverkusen.
While Leverkusen stormed to the Bundesliga title to end Bayern's 11-year dominance of the competition, Tuchel's team can still salvage silverware in the form of the Champions League.
Bayern head into the second leg of their semi-final tie with Real Madrid on the back of a 2-2 draw in Munich in Tuesday's first leg.
Dortmund boss Terzic not surprised by Sancho's quality
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said he was not surprised by Jadon Sancho's quality after the on-loan forward helped the German side to a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first-leg tie of their Champions League semi-final.
Sancho joined Manchester United from Dortmund for 85 million euros ($91.11 million) in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and returned to Germany after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag.
After impressing on the right wing against PSG, Terzic said he always sees Sancho's quality in training.
"It's maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven't had rhythm for a while," he told reporters.
"We know his quality, and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon."
Dortmund bagged the winner in the 36th minute through Niclas Fullkrug to take a slim advantage going into Tuesday's return leg in Paris.
Despite winning the first leg, Terzic knows that the tie is still all to play for in the second leg.
"We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one. It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today," he said in a press conference.
"This is just half-time and next week will be a different story. It won't be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd. We felt it today from the 45th to the 60th minute.
"We felt their quality. We showed our best game against PSG, but next week they will have a euphoric backing of their fans, and they will want to turn the tie around.
It is a victory that, coupled with Bayern Munich’s draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday, secures Germany a fifth automatic Champions League spot next season.
"We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way. But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution," Terzic added.
"Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it [added spot] does not improve our Bundesliga season, but it does offer a softer landing."
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