TURIN: Dusan Vlahovic was ple­ased to hear the applause of the Juv­e­­ntus supporters when he scored in their 4-0 win over Cagliari in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday, after taking their insults at the weekend.

Vlahovic netted a late equaliser in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Venezia but the Juventus players were greeted with the boos and jeers of their fans, unhappy with another poor performance and their fourth successive stalemate in the league.

The Serbian striker was the main target of their insults, despite the goal, after Vlahovic raised his thumb to the fans ironically, but all is forgiven, with the crowd cheering him before the Cagliari match and again after he opened the scoring.

“The applause of the fans makes me very happy, this is one of the biggest clubs in Europe with a huge fan base,” Vlahovic told broadcaster Mediaset. “I’m sorry for what happened on Saturday. Now we have to continue like this, all united. Every victory gives us confidence but we think game by game.”

Teun Koopmeiners wrapped up the last-16 tie for the 15-time winners with a sensational free-kick from distance before Francisco Conceicao and Nico Gonzalez netted late to underline an emphatic performance by the Old Lady.

Manager Thiago Motta was happy with his side’s performance as they eased into the quarter-finals, and also defended the supporters’ right to criticise, despite his team remaining the only unbeaten club in the league.

“We put in a good performance, the crowd is always with us,” Motta said. “Sometimes, they have the freedom to express their emotions, we need them. Sometimes we are able to have a positive result and sometimes we are not, even if we didn’t lose. We have the level to perform, especially when players like Nico Gonzalez return.”

Gonzalez made a brief substitute appearance against Venezia, having been out of action with a muscle injury for over two months, and the Argentine winger came off the bench in the Cagliari game to wrap up the win in the 89th minute.

“The first thing I wanted was to feel good and help the team,” Gonzalez said. “We have to stay united and happy, I’m happy with the goal and the victory.”

Juventus, the most successful side in the competition’s history, host Empoli in the next round, while Cagliari will return their focus to the Serie A relegation battle.

Cagliari were quickest out of the blocks with Gianluca Lapadula forcing Juve keeper Michele Di Gregorio into a point-blank save in the opening minute, but after that it was the home side who took control.

Vlahovic put Juve in front one minute before half-time when he swivelled smartly on a pass to feet from Kenan Yildiz and rolled the ball into the far corner.

Juve doubled their lead when Koopmeiners whipped his free kick from well outside the area over the wall and into the top corner in the 53rd minute, and had little trouble seeing out the win.

Conceicao eventually made it three on 80 minutes with a whipped finish after cutting in from the right flank and Gonzalez went on a solo run before lobbing the keeper as Juve continue to enjoy success in cup competitions having also beaten Manchester City in the Champions League last week.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2024