Juventus Reaches Coppa Italia Final Despite Ronaldo's Missed PK vs. Milan

Cristiano Ronaldo missed an early penalty kick, but Ante Rebic's subsequent red card helped Juventus return to the final.

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Soccer finally resumed in Italy in a surreal atmosphere as Juventus drew with 10-man AC Milan 0-0 on Friday to reach the Italian Cup final on the away goals rule.

The first leg finished 1-1 in Milan before the coronavirus forced the season to be suspended on March 9.

Napoli hosts Inter Milan in the other semifinal second leg on Saturday.

The final will be on Wednesday in Rome.

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty and Juventus dominated, although quality was clearly lacking in both teams following the lengthy hiatus.

Exactly 100 days after they were meant to play, the teams took to the field in Turin. Just as for every previous home game, the Allianz Stadium announcer introduced the home team with a booming “Ladies and gentlemen ... Juventus Football Club.”

Only, this time, there was a resounding silence.

The catchy Juventus anthem which is normally sung enthusiastically by 40,000 fans holding their scarves above their heads was played loudly over the tannoy, but also greeted by silence.

Juventus and Milan walked out separately into the eerie setting and, somewhat ironically, held a minute’s silence for the more than 34,000 known people who have died from COVID-19 in Italy. That was immediately followed by applause for healthcare workers.

There was also a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement: Milan’s warmup jerseys bore the words and Juventus wore ones with the words “No racism.”

New rules limit the maximum number of people in stadiums to 300, including the teams, officials and media. The absence of fans meant the players’ voices could clearly be heard and they echoed inside the cavernous stadium, as did the applause and jeers from the team benches, most noticeably for the penalty incident in the 15th minute.

The penalty was awarded on video review for a handball by Andrea Conti. Cheers from the Juventus bench turned to groans as Ronaldo fired the spot kick onto the base of the left post.

The Milan bench loudly celebrated but, before they could even retake their seats, they saw forward Ante Rebic sent off for a high challenge on Juventus defender Danilo.

Early fireworks in the Coppa Italia semifinal second leg between Juventus and AC Milan as soccer returns in Italy.

Cristiano Ronaldo puts a penalty off the post, and then Ante Rebic promptly gets sent off!

(via @ESPNFC) pic.twitter.com/vTKPeclo7o

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) June 12, 2020

Milan had struggled beforehand and, with the dismissal of Rebic, lost its only real goalscorer. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was absent through suspension.

There was a heightened level of security outside Allianz Stadium but, on a drizzly night in Turin, there were a handful of fans to welcome the Juventus team bus, including one supporter who had driven from Bergamo, nearly 200 kilometers (120 miles) away.

“I wanted to see the team a bit, seeing as it’s been four months that we haven’t seen them. To give my support from outside,” 47-year-old laborer Massimiliano Balduzzi said before leaving to watch the match in his hotel room.

“Unfortunately we can’t go in because of everything that’s happened. Let’s hope they open the stadium as soon as possible, I see it as being hard but we all need to have patience.”

After the cup final, Serie A will restart on June 20.