Cristiano Ronaldo penalty earns Juventus draw at 10-man Milan
Level pegging after Coppa Italia semi-final first leg
Rome: A stoppage-time Cristiano Ronaldo penalty rescued a 1-1 draw for Juventus at 10-man AC Milan on Thursday in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final.
Ante Rebic’s volley gave the hosts a deserved lead after 61 minutes, following a string of good saves from veteran Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
But Stefano Pioli’s side were reduced to 10 men for the final 18 minutes when defender Theo Hernandez was shown a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Paulo Dybala.
Juventus were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, which showed that a Ronaldo scissor kick had struck the arm of Milan defender Davide Calabria.
The Portuguese forward smashed the spot-kick into the roof of the net to earn his side a draw ahead of the second leg in Turin on March 4.
Napoli defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in the first leg of the other semi-final in Milan on Wednesday.