Lazio hold nerve for glory

S.S. Lazio claimed the Coppa Italia for the fourth time after they and fellow finalists Juventus FC played out a dramatic second leg in Turin.

Match swings
Juve trailed 2-0 from the first game, but came back to level the tie only for Bernardo Corradi and Stefano Fiore to score and give the Rome team a 4-2 aggregate victory. The result means Udinese Calcio - seventh in Serie A - are assured a UEFA Cup place for next season as Lazio now qualify for that tournament as cup winners.

Sixth in Serie A
Lazio are sixth in Serie A, three points behind fourth-placed Internazionale FC with a game to play, and still have an outside chance of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

Lippi boost
Marcello Lippi was hoping for a victory in his last game on the Stadio Delle Alpi bench before stepping down at the end of the season, and David Trezeguet gave his side a boost on 20 minutes when he headed in Alessandro Birindelli's cross.

Juve hopes dashed
Alessandro Del Piero then levelled the tie just 24 seconds after the break after being set up by Pavel Nedved and Trezeguet, and with Juventus dominant it seemed the cup could be theirs. But Lazio rallied and the vital away goal came in the 69th minute when Corradi headed in Sinisa Mihajlovic's corner

Win sealed
Six minutes from the end the trophy was sealed when Corradi headed down for Fiore to shoot in. There was no way back for Juve, and Lazio coach Roberto Mancini was ecstatic.

Coach's praise
Mancini said: "The lads deserve this after all the loyalty to the club they have shown through what has been a difficult two years with all our well-known [financial] problems. Juve had us in trouble early on. But again, credit to the lads for not losing their heads and focusing on the job right to the end - they deserved this triumph."