Fiorentina have put themselves in pole position to reach the Coppa Italia final after securing a 2-1 win away at Juventus in this evening's semi-final first leg at the Juventus Stadium.

The hosts began on the front foot as Arturo Vidal launched into a series of forays towards the Viola's final third, but the Chilean wasn't able to find the target.

Despite Juve's early dominance, Fiorentina countered through Joaquin, whose cross towards the far post was nodded just wide by Jasmin Kurtic.

In the 11th minute, the visitors took the lead in spectacular fashion, Mohamed Salah surging down the right flank before driving inside, holding off a challenge and smashing a shot high into the net.

Juve appeared shell-shocked at first, but they managed to regroup and, midway through the first half, Simone Pepe's cross from the right fell to Fernando Llorente, who glanced a header home off the base of the far post.

Both sides continued to push forward in what proved to be an exciting, open-ended affair, but neither was able to edge into the lead come the half-time whistle.

Four minutes after the restart, Micah Richards's low drive from the right forced goalkeeper Marco Storari to push the ball behind for a corner.

Fiorentina continued to turn the screw and were effectively gifted the lead just before the hour as Claudio Marchisio conceded possession on the edge of his own area, which allowed Salah to bear down on goal and stroke the ball home.

The beleaguered hosts set about trying to find a way back into the game for the second time, and for a while they were banging on the Viola door through Carlos Tevez and Paul Pogba.

By the latter stages of the match, both sides were launching forward at every opportunity, but Fiorentina were able to hold out and secure the win.