Cristiano Ronaldo’s first half brace helped Juventus to a 1-2 comeback win over Inter Milan
Juventus came from a goal down to beat Inter Milan 2-1 under the San Siro floodlights on Tuesday night, in what was the first leg of their Coppa d’Italia semi final tie. Lautaro Martinez scored 9 minutes into the game to put the hosts ahead on the night. Cristiano Ronaldo restored parity from the spot just before the half hour mark. The Portuguese then completed the comeback, capitalizing on a defensive error to lift the ball into an empty net.
Inter 1-2 Juventus Match Report
Antonio Conte’s side ran out 2-0 winners the last time the teams met in January. The Nerazzuri wasted no time getting down to business in the latest instalment of the Derby d’Italia. From a swift counter attacking move, they took the lead. Sanchez won possession in midfield, laying off the ball to Barrella who raced down the right flank and squared it to Lautaro. The Argentine beat de Ligt to fire past Buffon. Juve sought an equaliser and got rewarded in the 25th minute. The referee awarded a penalty following a VAR review, for a pull on Cuadrado by Ashley Young in the box. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take it and absolutely buries it, sending Handanovic the wrong way. The winning goal came just 10 minutes later off the boots of Ronaldo, who capitalized on a poor back pass. With Handanovic already off his line, Ronaldo clipped the ball into an unguarded net, off the inside of the bar. 
Ronaldo scores 763rd career goal
Those two goals takes his career total to 763 goals, more than anyone else in the history of football! Quite an early birthday present for Ronaldo will be 36 years old on 5th February.
OFFICIAL: Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more goals than anyone in the history of football 🥇🙌 https://t.co/Zf7cZCLjxT pic.twitter.com/coaArvIWvo
— MARCA in English (@MARCAinENGLISH) February 2, 2021
Buffon makes 1,100th appearance
Further down the San Siro, it was a memorable night for Gianluigi Buffon made his 1,100th appearance. He made a superb save to keep out Dermain’s shot, denying the hosts an equaliser. Juventus will now take the 2-1 lead into the return leg as they look to win the Coppa d’Italia for the first time in three seasons. The Old Ladies host the second leg in Turin on Tuesday, 9 February (19:45 GMT).
