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Primavera flourish in Florence

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Primavera flourish in Florence
Primavera flourish in Florence
Primavera flourish in Florence

Juventus’ Primavera followed up their derby win at the weekend with another prestigious victory on Wednesday, beating Fiorentina 1-0 in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final in Florence.

Grigoris Kastanos netted the decisive strike after 41 minutes to give the Bianconeri the advantage for when the sides do battle again in Vinovo on Wednesday 10 February.

An even affair saw Fabio Grosso’s charges immediately threaten in the final third with Francesco Cassata almost opened the scoring. The hosts hit back with some dangerous attacks of their own and halfway through the first period, Federico Chiesa saw his effort rebound off the crossbar.

Just when it looked as though the Viola would raise the intensity even further, Juve put together a fine passing move, culminating in Claudio Zappa’s cross to Kastanos, the Cypriot controlling the ball before shooting his side into the lead just four minutes before the interval.

The second half was just as tightly matched as the first, Jan Mlakar striking the woodwork for Fiorentina before the Bianconeri forced opposition keeper Artem Makarov into a pair of smart saves late on, preventing the visitors from doubling their lead. Nevertheless, an 11th consecutive victory in domestic competitions represents an excellent result for Grosso and company, especially against one of the country’s most talented Primavera outfits.

Juventus will look to take their fine form into Saturday’s fixture away to Trapani, where a win would keep them top of the table.

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