Rabiot hails team spirit after Ronaldo's goals help Juventus beat Inter

Milan - Lautaro Martinez gave the home side an early lead but the Portuguese replied with a penalty before pouncing on a defensive mix-up to put the Turin club in front before halftime

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to fire Juventus to a 2-1 comeback win over Inter Milan in a hard-fought Coppa Italia semifinal first-leg clash at San Siro on Tuesday.

Lautaro Martinez gave the home side an early lead but the Portuguese replied with a penalty before pouncing on a defensive mix-up to put the Turin club in front before halftime.

Inter, without suspended top scorer Romelu Lukaku, pushed for an equaliser but couldn’t find a way past 43-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

The Italian produced a superb save to deny Matteo Darmian on the 1,100th senior appearance of his career for club and country.

Nine players were booked in a fiery encounter as Andrea Pirlo’s side earned revenge for their 2-0 Serie A defeat in this fixture, known as the ‘Derby of Italy’, last month.

“It was important after losing in the league,” Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot told Rai Sport.

“We saw a different team and showed that we’re at the same level as Inter.”

Juventus, who finished as runners-up last year, host the second leg in Turin on Tuesday, Feb. 9 and the winner will face Napoli or Atalanta in the final.

“There’s still one game to go, which will be even more important and difficult, the spirit of revenge seen tonight must be reaffirmed next week,” Rabiot added.