Liam Henderson holds penalty nerve in stunning cup upset at Juventus to set up Scottish-themed semi-final
Empoli into last four - and midfielder plays major part
Scottish midfielder Liam Henderson played a key role for Empoli as they stunned Juventus to reach the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
Henderson played the full match at the Allianz Stadium in Turin before scoring in the penalty shootout as Empoli prevailed 4-2 on spot-kicks following a 1-1 draw.
Empoli’s reward for causing a major upset in Italian football’s only cup competition will be a semi-final at home to Bologna, who are captained by Henderson’s compatriot Lewis Ferguson. The other last-four tie is a mouthwatering derby between AC Milan and Internazionale at the San Siro.
Empoli are struggling in Serie A and are now in the relegation zone, but they put their leagues woes to one side in the cup and put in an excellent performance at Juventus.
Moroccan midfielder Youssef Maleh put the visitors ahead on 26 minutes before Khephren Thuram levelled on 66 minutes. That was the end of the scoring, with Henderson booked as Empoli forced penalties.
The 28-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season, stepped up to net Empoli’s first from the spot, with Dusan Vlahovic and Kenan Yilmiz missing for Juventus.
Henderson, who won the Scottish Cup in 2016 with Hibs, came through the youth ranks at Celtic and has played in Italy since 2017 with Bari, Verona, Lecce, Palermo and Empoli.
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