Gervinho sees Roma past Juve in Cup quarters
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E-mail Xinhua, January 22, 2014
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A late strike by Gervinho was enough to put Roma into the Coppa Italia semi-finals with a tense 1-0 win over Juventus. |
Roma beat Juventus 1-0 thanks to a goal from Gervinho to move into the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia on Tuesday.
Roma, whose unbeaten streak was snapped earlier this month when they lost 3-0 to Juventus in a Serie A tie, dictated play for much of the encounter and will face either Lazio or Napoli in the semi-finals.
Gervinho emerged as the hero as he met a cross from Kevin Strootman and struck with a superb backheel volley at the 79th minute.
Roma head coach Rudi Garcia felt Roma "wanted it more" and "it was a tactical victory" to knock Juventus out of the Coppa Italia.
"I think Roma wanted it more. We played against a very strong side and we saw tonight they have two first choice line-ups, so you can't tell when they are rotating," he said.
"We played well tonight, kept possession in the first half and it was also a tactical victory, as we decided to wait a little more after the break to open up spaces. That's how we got the goal," he said.
His Juventus counterpart Antonio Conte said Gervinho's strike decieded a balanced game.
"I think it was a very balanced encounter, that Roma scored perhaps in the moment we looked to be taking control," he said.
"It's a shame, as we conceded a goal during our best moment of the game. We were perhaps a bit too timid in the first half, but at the same time I didn't see us suffer particularly at the back," he said.
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