Juventus and Napoli will compete for the Coppa Italia trophy on Wednesday.Both sides overcame difficult tests in their semi-finals, with Juventus defeating AC Milan by way of the away goals rule and Napoli beating Inter Milan 2-1 on aggregate.Rust was evident as the four Italian teams returned to action following a three-month layoff.Inter Milan’s defeat was rather disappointing for Antonio Conte, who might’ve expected his team to overcome a Napoli side that is 15 points behind them in the league.Christian Eriksen’s goal in the second minute - direct from a corner - gave them a great chance to turn the tie around, but Dries Mertens equalised just before half-time and Inter couldn’t score again.They were hoping Romelu Lukaku would inspire them to the final but the Belgian drew a blank.And the most prominent clip on social media of Lukaku’s performance shows his woeful first touch in the second half.Ouch. That’s terrible, although we’re ready to excuse Lukaku. Rust and all that…Man United fans are having flashbacks…
First touch aside, Lukaku is enjoying a fine debut season in Italy, scoring 23 goals in all competitions for Inter Milan.
The former Chelsea striker was unable to add to his tally against Napoli, but Conte wasn’t concerned about his performance or that of his entire team.
“I see the glass as half full. We created a lot, there were lots of Ospina saves, the best player on the pitch,” Conte told Rai Sport, per SempreInter.
“You can improve in everything and in the finishing, but I have little to complain about in terms of performance and desire.
“We did what we tried in training, we’re trying to improve as much as we did before, I’m satisfied. I’m sorry for the guys, they deserved to play in the final.”