Lukaku scores a late penalty as the Coppa Italia semi - final first leg finishes all square

JUVENTUS 1-1 INTER

Goalscorers: 83' Cuadrado (J), 95' Lukaku (I) pen.

JUVENTUS (3-5-2): 36 Perin; 15 Gatti, 3 Bremer, 6 Danilo; 11 Cuadrado, 44 Fagioli (20 Miretti 65'), 5 Locatelli, 25 Rabiot, 17 Kostic; 9 Vlahovic (14 Milik 73'), 22 Di Maria (7 Chiesa 65'). Substitutes: 1 Szczesny, 23 Pinsoglio, 2 De Sciglio, 12 Alex Sandro, 18 Kean, 24 Rugani, 30 Soule, 32 Paredes, 43 Iling-Junior, 45 Barrenechea. Coach: Massimiliano Allegri.

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Handanovic; 33 D'Ambrosio (2 Dumfries 81'), 15 Acerbi, 95 Bastoni; 36 Darmian, 23 Barella, 77 Brozovic (14 Asllani 81'), 22 Mkhitaryan, 32 Dimarco (8 Gosens 68'); 9 Dzeko (90 Lukaku 68'), 10 Lautaro (11 Correa 86'). Substitutes: 21 Cordaz, 24 Onana, 5 Gagliardini, 6 De Vrij, 12 Bellanova, 45 Carboni, 46 Zanotti. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

Booked: Brozovic (I) Sent off: Lukaku (I) in the 96th minute for a second bookable offence; Cuadrado (J) and Handanovic (I) after full-time. Added time: 1' - 7'. Referee: Massa. Assistants: Costanzo, Passeri. Fourth official: Guida. VAR: Di Paolo. VAR assistant: Dionisi.

Let's start from the end, because it's at the end when everything happened. It finished 1-1 in Turin, but a whole book could be written about what happened from the 83rd minute onwards. Juve took the lead through Cuadrado, but then, 20 seconds from the end of stoppage time, a Bremer handball led to the penalty that Inter equalised from. As always, Romelu Lukaku stepped up to convert. A really confident spot-kick, but then came a second yellow card for the Belgian striker. Tempers flared out on the pitch and the tension continued after the full-time whistle, with Handanovic and Cuadrado also seeing red. 1-1, three sendings-off and a semi-final second leg still to play at San Siro on 26 April. Inter vs. Juve is a never-ending story.

Knowing that a 180-minute battle lay ahead to reach the Coppa Italia final, and also with the desire to bounce back following the defeat to Fiorentina at San Siro, the Nerazzurri took to the pitch in Turin in a focused and determined manner, starting from Handanovic between the sticks. Indeed, the Slovenian goalkeeper made his 450th Inter appearance on an evening where Bastoni also reached a significant milestone (150 matches for Inter). D'Ambrosio was part of the backline, with Darmian selected on the right and Dimarco on the left. Meanwhile, Dzeko partnered Lautaro up front. This was Inzaghi's Inter, who were grateful to Handanovic for producing a fine save to tip a shot from Di Maria behind for a corner early on.

Nevertheless, the Nerazzurri were the ones who were generally in control at the start as they kept hold of possession. Juventus, meanwhile, aimed to surprise Inzaghi's men on the counter. Bastoni was very much involved in Inter's attacking play, and it was down the left where the Nerazzurri were trying to inflict damage on the hosts. Inter's biggest chance of the half came in the 33rd minute as Mkhitaryan rolled the ball across for Brozovic, who unleashed a low shot that was saved by Perin's legs. The Nerazzurri looked comfortable and came close again through a D'Ambrosio header in first-half stoppage time.

Even if Juve made a bright start to the second period, Vlahovic was being contained well by the Nerazzurri defence. In terms of attacking play, Inter were putting some nice moves together on the ground, with Mkhitaryan coming close with a low left-footed strike. Substitutions were made to shake things up: Juve changed their attack, while Inzaghi sent on Lukaku and Gosens. Juventus were regularly switching play from left to right, from Kostic to Cuadrado. In the 78th minute, Milik failed to divert the Colombian's cross-shot into the net, but Cuadrado then broke the deadlock himself five minutes later after the ball had arrived from the opposite flank.

Inter found themselves behind and didn't have long to draw level and avoid defeat. With the Nerazzurri showing plenty of heart and determination, Bremer was penalised for a clear handball in the box in the 93rd minute. Romelu Lukaku stepped up and sent Perin the wrong way to score his 18th penalty out of a possible 18 in Nerazzurri colours. 1-1, and the tie remains very much open going into the return leg on 26 April (away goals don't count).

There was a lot of tension out on the pitch as Lukaku received a second yellow after his celebration and saw red, while Handanovic and Cuadrado squared up to each other after full-time and were also sent off. All three will miss the upcoming fixture at San Siro.