Lukaku seals dramatic draw for Inter in tense clash with Juve

Coppa Italia semi-final witnesses player scuffle at the end of ill-tempered first leg

Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku and Juventus' Juan Cuadrado argue following their Coppa Italia semi-final first leg on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. AP

Romelu Lukaku netted a last-gasp leveller in Inter Milan's dramatic 1-1 draw at Juventus on Tuesday which left their Coppa Italia semi-final all square after the first leg.

Belgium striker Lukaku rolled in from the penalty spot deep in stoppage time to keep both teams level ahead of the second leg in Milan later this month, before then being sent off following his celebrations in front of the home fans.

Lukaku, who was already on a booking for a late foul on Federico Gatti, put his finger in front of his mouth and told the crowd to "shut up" as his teammates swamped him.

The Belgian striker's celebration in front of Juve fans was judged to be provocative and he was sent off, while Inter's Samir Handanovic and Juve's Juan Cuadrado also got red cards immediately after the final whistle following a scuffle which continued as the teams went into the tunnel at the Allianz Stadium.

"Tonight I saw the boys very angry about this draw but we have to be good at accepting it," Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri told Mediaset.

"In the first half we were a little too slow. When they had the ball we waited for them; in the second half we applied more pressure."

Juve should have taken the lead in the 77th minute when Arkadiusz Milik failed to poke home Cuadrado's mishit shot with the goal at his mercy.

Cuadrado then found what he thought was the decisive goal when he collected Adrien Rabiot's diverted cross and finished well past Handanovic before doing a victory jig on the sidelines.

But then Gleison Bremer gift-wrapped a chance for Lukaku to score his sixth goal of a troubled season at Inter with a handball, after which all the mayhem started.

"What happened was that Lukaku's celebrations were misunderstood, as he always celebrates like that," Inter coach Simone Inzaghi told Mediaset.

"We were on top without being able to score, but I can't criticise my players, it was a good performance."