Juventus grabs final spot in Coppa Italia semis

Turin Jan 4 (IANS) Juventus defeated Torino 2-0 to win the derby and qualify for the Coppa Italia semifinals.

Juve in pursuit of a fourth straight Coppa title were aggressive from the start on Wednesday and took the lead in the 15th minute with a goal by Douglas Costa reports Efe.

Torino got a chance for the equaliser just three minutes later but M Baye Niang s strike hit the post and Juventus went on to dominate for the rest of the half.

Mario Mandzukic and Blaise Matuidi each squandered opportunities before the Croatian international made it 2-0 for the Bianconeri in the 67th minute with an assist from Paulo Dybala.

Torino protested alleging a foul by Sami Khedira against Afriye Acquah but officials upheld the goal after watching the video replay.

Juve held on to post their 15th clean sheet of the season and continue their defence of the Coppa Italia where their next opponent will be Atalanta who stunned Napoli 2-1 in Tuesday s quarterfinal.

The other semifinal will feature a dual between Lazio and AC Milan.

--IANS
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