Post-Game Thread: Mirko Vucinic Scores, Marco Storari Saves the Day In Extra Time

Mirko Vucinic saved his best for extra time. And thankfully, the same can be said for Marco Storari.

Vucinic, to be completely honest, was his usual self. He had moments, yet really didn't do much of anything after he came on for Sebastian Giovinco in the second half. (By the way, how pretty was Gio's goal? Yeah, thought so. Also, why didn't Marco Amelia move at all on the goal? Yeah, I don't know either.)

But Vucinic's goal, which came five minutes into the first extra time period, was the perfect way to prove that he was indeed in fact on the field. Vucinic being invisible during a match? Hard to believe, I know. It's like it never happens on a regular basis or anything.

And that's where Storari comes in.

Milan's attempted comeback just had to wait until the last two minutes for the simple fact that we aren't supposed to have nice things. Or normal blood pressure readings. Or uneventful endings to games where Juventus win.

That's just the way it is. Luckily for us, though, the blood pressure readings that were likely off the charts were worth it.

Yet Storari, who was seeing his first game action since Juve's 2-0 win over Napoli on Oct. 20 (and before that, the season-opening win over Parma in late August), was just as vital as ever before. For a backup goalkeeper, staying sharp is always top priority. And Storari looked just as good as if he was playing in Gigi Buffon's place every single weekend.

Now, because of most notably Giovinco and Vucinic's goal and Storari's saves with the clock winding down, Lazio awaits...

My Man of the Match: I'm taking my full Goalkeeper Bias card out of the deck and saying Storari. It's for this simple reason: If Storari doesn't save Milan's last-minute flurry, this game would have gone to penalty kicks. I can't really think of any way to say it. Storari's heroics allowed Juventus to keep the lead and to advance to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia for the second straight year. And for Storari, it's just further confirmation just how good he is — not that we didn't know already. Best No. 2 goalkeeper in the world? Ha, he's better than a lot of No. 1s. Spoiled, we are.