01 June 2023
Sunday, 4 June 2023. 16:30 CEST. The date and time for the very last match-up of the season for Juventus Women, and the last opportunity to earn silverware for the Bianconere, who take on Roma in the final of this year's Italian Cup. Taking place at the Arechi Stadium in Salerno, it will be Juve's second match against Roma in the space of a week, following their 5-2 league victory over the Giallorosse last weekend.
Below we take a look back at the journey to this season's Cup final.
GROUP STAGE
The Cup campaign began at the turn of the year, on 5 January 2023, to be exact. Juventus Women were included in the knockout round alongside Brescia and Cittadella. The first match is against the latter, played at the Pier Cesare Tombolato Stadium, and ends 3-1 in favour of Juve, with goals from Annahita Zamanian, Agnese Bonfantini and Cristiana Girelli. Three days later, the Bianconere record a 4-1 victory at Brescia thanks to strikes from Elisa Pfattner, Linda Sembrant, Girelli and Lisa Boattin. The match also saw Sofia Bertucci and Eva Schatzer make their senior debuts in black and white.
Two victories and the first hurdle overcome.
QUARTER-FINALS
In the quarter-finals, Juve were paired against Chievo, a club that played in Serie B this year. The two matches were scheduled in the middle of an extremely congested period for the Bianconere. On January 22, three days before the first leg, Juve faced off against Pomigliano, while on January 29, four days after the first leg, they hosted Sampdoria. The return leg came at an equally intense time - three games played in the space of eight days, with matches against Milan and Fiorentina sandwiching the second-leg quarter-final.
Yet a resilient Juventus Women proved their quality, emerging 3-0 victors in both match-ups against Chievo. A brace from Girelli and a goal from Valentina Cernoia secured the first leg, while Barbara Bonansea, Arianna Caruso and Girelli once more did the business in the return fixture.
SEMI-FINALS
In the semi-finals, a familiar foe awaited: Rita Guarino's Inter which, by the end of the season, Juventus faced no less than six times.
The first leg against the Nerazzurre ended 1-1: Julia Grosso gave Juve the lead, but Merlo equalised to keep the tie in the balance. Co-incidentally, the first leg result is exactly as it was in the previous season's Cup semi-final between the two sides.
Everything rode on the second leg at Vinovo, where the hosts took an early lead courtesy of Sara Gunnarsdottir, an advantage the Bianconere held until the 83rd minute when Inter's Chawinga equalised, which sent the match into extra-time. And in the 100th minute, up steppped Lineth Beerensteyn, the Dutch forward using her face and skill from the left flank to fire home the decider and send her side into this year's final.
There is one final step on this journey, one more match, one more spectacle. Sunday's final in Salerno awaits.
