Weston McKennie ran the midfield as the American star provided an assist in Juventus' leg one Coppa Italia win over Lazio.
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Juve defeat Lazio 2-0 in leg one of Coppa Italia semisMcKennie notches 10th assistBianconeri on track for silverwareGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
Just days after a lackluster clash between these two sides in Serie A, Juve and Lazio met up again, this time in the Coppa Italia semifinals. The Bianconeri earned a 2-0 win that sent them one step closer to the finals of the competition.
After a relatively-drab first 45 minutes, Juve turned it up in the second half. Federico Chiesa opened the scoring, netting in the 50th minute to seize the lead. Dusan Vlahovic made it 2-0 just 14 minutes later, taking a pass from Weston McKennie, beating a defender and finding the far post.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The Coppa Italia is Juve's one real chance at a trophy this season as the Old Lady aren't playing in Europe this campaign. The Serie A title, meanwhile, is all but gone as Inter runs away with the Scudetto this season.
With the win, McKennie and co. will have a huge advantage heading into the second leg, which will be played on April 23. The winner of the tie will face either Atalanta or Fiorentina in the finale on May 15.
Getty ImagesUSMNT IMPACT
McKennie continues to star for Juventus. The American was arguably the Old Lady's Man of the Match with his shift in midfield setting the tone.
The assist, his 10th of the season, will be the highlight. Vlahovic, to his credit, did much of the work with the finish, but McKennie did do well to set up the Serbian star. Outside of that moment, McKennie was also fantastic in all other facets of the game.
The American had several good runs forward, helping spur on a normally-frustrating Juve attack. He was also ready to battle in the midfield, winning five duels on the day to help his side put in a much better performance than the one they put forth over the weekend.
McKennie's USMNT teammate Timothy Weah remains a supersub, meanwhile, as he came on late to help Juve see out the result.
Getty ImagesGOAL'S RATINGS
Weston McKennie (8/10):
Did a little bit of everything to lead the Juve midfield. He's been so, so good this season and performances like thsi are starting to become the expectation for a player that is amogn the best midfielders in Serie A this season.
Tim Weah (N/A):
Came on a bit too late to really get going as Juve turned to him for fresh legs in the 81st minute.