Juventus have defeated Lazio 2-1 after extra time in the Coppa Italia final at the Stadio Olimpico to remain firmly on course to claiming a first ever treble.
The Bianconeri, who last lifted this trophy 20 years ago, now head into next month's Champions League final against Barcelona with a domestic league and cup double under their belts.
Alessandro Matri's goal in extra time proved to be the difference between the two sides, on the back of a tightly-contested clash in the Italian capital.
© Getty Images
The much-anticipated contest got off to an explosive start, as Stefan Radu beat his man to guide Danilo Cataldi's free kick beyond Marco Storari inside the opening four minutes.
It did not take long for the Old Lady to level things up through a set piece of their own, though, with Giorgio Chiellini turning Andrea Pirlo's perfectly lofted cross into the back of the net, after Patrice Evra headed it into his path just a few yards out.
Both sides continued to threaten at both ends without either keeper truly being troubled, until some sloppy play by Paul Pogba shortly after the half-hour mark allowed Marco Parolo a free shot, which flashed wide of the target.
Lazio almost saw their good work come unstuck in the latter stages of the opening 45 minutes when Etrit Berisha failed to clear his lines and allowed Carlos Tevez to close him down, but thankfully for the Biancocelesti stopper, the ball rebounded off the striker and to relative safety.
The opening stages of the second half saw the contest become a little more stretched, which Pogba almost capitalised on when heading wide a decent back-post chance.
Some poor finishing ultimately cost both sides as the hour-mark approached; Parolo dragging a shot wide for the six-time winners soon after that Pogba miss up the other end.
Juventus continued to look strong when pushing forward through Tevez and strike partner Fernando Llorente, however, with the latter very nearly working away some space to get in a shot when well placed, only for the Lazio defence to quickly crowd him out.
© Getty Images
Filip Djordjevic was introduced by Stefano Pioli for the closing stages of normal time and, with the teams apparently deadlocked and unable to find a way through, the substitute had a great chance to add a third goal of the contest, which he struck straight at stand-in stopper Storari.
There was more drama to come late on when Matri had his goal ruled out for offside, despite replays seemingly showing that he was in fact stood in a legal position when striking Pirlo's pass.
That signalled a further period of 30 minutes extra time, and it was Matri who was in the thick of the action once again, this time slotting home a rebound after Tevez had been denied.
Juve's goal came shortly after Lazio had struck the post through Parolo, but the 2013 winners could not muster one final charge to rescue themselves as Juve's treble dream rolled on in Rome.
Daniel Lewis
