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Ronaldo misses penalty as Italian soccer resumes in silence

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Juve qualified for Wednesday's final on away goals following their 1-1 draw in the first leg of the semifinal (Reuters)
Juve qualified for Wednesday's final on away goals following their 1-1 draw in the first leg of the semifinal (Reuters)

Published: Sun 14 Jun 2020, 1:30 AM

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty as Juventus were held to a 0-0 draw by 10-man AC Milan on Friday but the Turin side still squeezed into the Coppa Italia final as the season restarted following a three-month stoppage for the novel coronavirus.
Juve qualified for Wednesday's final on away goals following their 1-1 draw in the first leg of the semifinal, played on Feb. 13, and face Napoli or Inter Milan who meet on Saturday.
Juventus were awarded a penalty in the 16th minute after the VAR officials spotted a handball but Ronaldo slammed his effort against the foot of the post.
Almost immediately, Milan forward Ante Rebic was sent off for a wild kick at Danilo, forcing the visitors to play for more than 70 minutes with 10 men.
They held out but rarely threatened to snatch the goal that would have taken them into the final.

Exactly 100 days after they were meant to play, the teams took to the field in Turin. Just as for every previous home game, the Allianz Stadium announcer introduced the home team with a booming "Ladies and gentlemen ... Juventus Football Club."
Only, this time, there was a resounding silence.
The catchy Juventus anthem which is normally sung enthusiastically by 40,000 fans holding their scarves above their heads was played loudly over the tannoy, but also greeted by silence.
Juventus and Milan walked out separately into the eerie setting and, somewhat ironically, held a minute's silence for the more than 34,000 known people who have died from Covid-19 in Italy.
That was immediately followed by applause for healthcare workers.
There was also a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement: Milan's warmup jerseys bore the words and Juventus wore ones with the words "No racism."
New rules limit the maximum number of people in stadiums to 300, including the teams, officials and media.
The absence of fans meant the players' voices could clearly be heard and they echoed inside the cavernous stadium, as did the applause and jeers from the team benches, most noticeably for the penalty incident in the 15th minute.
The penalty was awarded on video review for a handball by Andrea Conti. Cheers from the Juventus bench turned to groans as Ronaldo fired the spot kick onto the base of the left post.

By Reuters/AP

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