Adriano gives Inter edge
ByReuters
Published 05/02/2004 at 10:30 GMT
Juventus twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Inter Milan in an Italian Cup semi-final first leg in Turin on Wednesday. Brazilian striker Adriano gave Inter the lead in the third minute, muscling on to an Alvaro Recoba chip before firing left-footed pa
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Marco Di Vaio levelled four minutes later when a sloppy clearance by visiting keeper Francesco Toldo rebounded back into the area, allowing the Italian international striker to slide the ball into an empty net.
Sloppy defending by the home side allowed Adriano to restore Inter's lead shortly after the half hour, the Brazilian heading in from close range for his fourth goal in four days after striking twice in Inter's 4-0 win over Siena at the weekend.
Inter came close to adding a third early in the second half when midfielder Okan Buruk headed against the bar and Adriano hit the post.
In the 64th minute, however, Toldo was sent off for handling the ball outside his area and his replacement Alex Cordaz could only watch six minutes later when Di Vaio timed a perfect run to whip Ciro Ferrara's through-ball into the roof of the net.
In the final minutes, Juve coach Marcello Lippi sent on midfielder Pavel Nedved and striker Alessandro Del Piero in an attempt to find the winner, but Inter held on to carry the 2-2 scoreline into the second leg on February 12.
On Thursday, AC Milan host Lazio in the first leg of the other semi-final.
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