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| Berlusconi Trophy won by Juve |
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Berlusconi Trophy is won by Juventus: the team awards it on penalties. After the 90th minute on draw (0-0), Del Neri’s team scored five-on-five penalties (Pepe, Bonucci, Lanzafame, Diego, Motta), whereas Milan failed one. It was a good match, intense and amusing too.
In what is known as a traditional, end-of-August friendly, Del Neri fields some players who have been little used so far, starting from the goalkeeper, Manninger. The four-men defence consists of the central couple Chiellini and Legrottaglie, outsides Grygera and De Ceglie, at the midfield Felipe Melo and Marchisio at the centre, Martinez and Pepe on the flanks. The offence is made up of Del Piero and Trezeguet. The two teams are really involved and the show is nice. On the 5th minute, the first emotion is signed by Milan, specifically Ronaldinho who is particularly inspired tonight, makes a deep pass in favour of Borriello, but Manninger timely saves thus thwarting the danger. Juventus suddenly replies with Del Piero who attempts one out of three free kicks he will be in charge of during the first 30 minutes played, but upon the action developments, Marchisio’s close-range shot goes high. On the 9th minute, there is a good initiative by Felipe Melo in favour of Pepe who puts in the middle but Antonini clears in corner. On the 14th minute, Milan is on stage again: Ronaldinho finds Oduamadi in area who sends the ball out. The same happens to Ambrosini’s (22nd min.) and Seedorf’s (23rd min.) shots. On the 19th minute, there is a good opportunity for Del Neri’s team when Martinez, now moved to the left, passes the ball to Del Piero whose shot is just by the side. About the first 30th minute, the captain crosses the ball in favour of Trezeguet who attempts a header but Abbiati intervenes. The final scenes see Milan to attack with a shot by Bonera saved by Manninger and a ball volleyed by Seedorf but gone outside by the side.
The second half begins with unvaried lineups and Marchisio who centrally shot a ball finally saved (4th minute). Then, a tit-for-tat between Ronaldinho and Del Piero with a free kick (7th and 9th minutes), but in both cases the goalkeepers are very attentive. On the 10th minute, Chiellini performs and excellent defensive intervention, anticipating Seedorf in area. Del Neri makes three substitutions: Diego, Amauri and Sissoko are fielded in place of Del Piero, Trezeguet and Marchisio. Allegri recalls Borriello to the bench and fields Inzaghi, and after a few minutes Flamini relieves Oduamadi. The new entries on both sides immediately draw the attention, particularly Diego who tries a couple of conclusions, the first goes high (23rd min.), the second is saved by Abbiati (24th min.), and then passes the ball to Pepe, always very active on the flank, who attempts a cross towards Amauri, but the referee detects an offensive foul by the Brazilian, and the game is stopped. On the other hand, Inzaghi who is rushed forward towards the goal, forces Manninger to come out. About the 30th minute of the 2nd half, there are some other substitutions: Bonucci and Lanzafame in, Legrottaglie and Martinez out, and then Motta in place of Grygera, whereas between Milan’s lines Gattuso relieves Pirlo and Huntelaar replaces Seedorf. In this whirl of substitutions, the Rossoneri search for a glimmer with Flamini, but his shot is sent to the corner by Manninger (31st min.). Juventus replies with Pepe’s corner, the ball is passed forward by Bonucci towards Amauri who, by the goal, doesn’t find the winning deviation. At four minutes by the end of the official time, there is a good opportunity for Juve with an excellent run by Felipe Melo starting from the midfield, moving forward and passing the ball to Amauri whose shot is just by the side. Even Diego’s bound free kick doesn’t succeed during the injury time. Then, the match will be decided on penalties.
Berlusconi Trophy is awarded on penalties. Bianconeri’s shots are perfect: Pepe, Bonucci, Lanzafame, Diego and Motta all hit the mark (Thiago Silva fails among Milan’s players) and celebrate the well-deserved success (5-4).
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