(Football news) In the fourth minute, Dusan Vlahovic scored the game-winning goal by sprinting through on goal and finishing with a rocket.
In the second half, the Serbian international appeared to have doubled Juventus’ lead, but video review revealed he had veered into an offside position before beating Marco Carnesecchi.
Ademola Lookman, an Atalanta forward, had a chance to tie the score late on, but his hard drive struck the woodwork.
Juventus ultimately stood firm to clinch a narrow win and their first major trophy since winning the Coppa Italia in 2020-21.
Meanwhile, Atalanta’s 61-year wait for the Coppa Italia trophy will continue, but they will have the chance to pick up some silverware in next week’s Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen.
There has been plenty of speculation suggesting Juventus will part ways with Massimiliano Allegri at the end of the season, but all that talk was put on hold for Wednesday’s Coppa Italia final against Atalanta.
The Juventus boss saw his team get off to the perfect start, with Vlahovic breaking the deadlock inside the opening five minutes. The Serbian striker latched onto Andrea Cambiaso’s through pass, before firing past Carnesecchi to net his 18th goal of the season.
Vlahovic’s early effort proved to be the first half’s only shot on target as Atalanta struggled to break through a stubborn Juventus backline. After being underwhelmed with his team’s display, Gian Piero Gasperini turned to his bench at the break, introducing Mali striker El Bilal Toure.
Gasperini saw his troops make an encouraging start to the second period, with Lookman driving a deflected effort just wide of Mattia Perin’s goal.
As the contest entered the final 20 minutes, substitute Aleksei Miranchuk spurned a promising opportunity, lifting the ball harmlessly over the bar after meeting a low cross from the left flank.
Moments after Miranchuk blazed over, Vlahovic thought he had grabbed the all-important second goal, producing the deftest of headers from Cambiaso’s inswinging delivery, only to see his goal chalked off for an offside infringement.
With the deficit still a slender one, Atalanta went agonisingly close to scoring the all-important equaliser when Lookman thundered a fierce strike against the upright.
After being saved by the woodwork, Juventus were then left frustrated as Fabio Miretti unleashed a fizzing strike against Carnesecchi’s crossbar.
As it turned out, Vlahovic’s early goal was sufficient to secure Juventus’ sixth Coppa Italia in nine years, and Perin’s spectacular stoppage-time save of Ederson ensured they did not need the insurance of a second goal.
As this is going on, Gasperini is left to mull over his third Coppa Italia loss as Atalanta’s manager, leaving the seasoned leader still in search of his first significant trophy.
When his team plays Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final in Dublin next week, the 66-year-old will be hoping that his team can alter that statistic.
