Salah solos from 60 meters to score against Juventus

The midfielder on loan from Chelsea continued to explode with a double to help Fiorentina beat Juventus 2-1 in the first leg of the Italian Cup semi-final.

Salah performs solo while surrounded by Juventus players. Photo: AFP.

Mohamed Salah silenced Juventus Arena when he opened the scoring for Fiorentina in the 11th minute. Receiving the ball from home, the Egyptian midfielder performed a solo run of more than 60 meters before finishing diagonally into Juventus' net.

The home side equalised midway through the first half when Fernando Llorente headed his trademark effort into the far corner. However, Fiorentina took the lead once again when Salah punished a mistake by Juventus' defence with a second-half winner.

The victory at Juventus Stadium gives Fiorentina a big advantage before playing the second leg of the semi-final on April 7.

Juventus' treble dream is in danger of being shattered by Salah's goal-scoring machine. The midfielder, who joined Fiorentina in the winter, has scored six goals in seven games, with only four of those games coming as a starter. Salah, meanwhile, failed to score in seven games for Chelsea in the first half of this season.

Juventus made eight changes to the line-up from the match against Roma earlier this week. Fiorentina coach Montella also made seven changes but Salah was the one who made the difference for the visitors.

The home team was without their main midfielder Pirlo, which severely affected their ability to hold the ball. Meanwhile, Fiorentina took advantage of their opportunities and closely marked Juventus' only striker, Llorente.

The defeat to Fiorentina was Juventus' first defeat in 90 minutes since November last year. Juventus lost the Italian Super Cup to Napoli during that time but on penalties.

Line-up

Juventus (4-3-3):Storari; Caceres, Bonucci, Ogbonna, Padoin;Vidal, Marchisio, Pogba; Pepe, Llorente, Coman.

Goal: Llorente (24')

Fiorentina (4-3-3):Neto; Richards, Rodriguez, Basanta, Marcos Alonso; Fernandez, Badelj, Kurtic; Joaquin, Gomez, Salah.

Goal:Mohamed Salah (11', 56')

According to VNE