ROME - Thanks to a brace from Martin Caceres, Juventus beat AC Milan at the San Siro in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Wednesday.

Juventus' Jose Silva Caceres celebrates after scoring against AC Milan during their Italian Cup semi final soccer match at Giuseppe Meazza in Milan, Feb 8, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

Stephan El Shaarawy equalized for the hosts just after the hour mark in the first leg only for Uruguayan Caceres to net a superb late winner for the Serie A leaders.

Juventus head coach Antonio Conte hailed his side's win despite the rotation he introduced to the team

"It's not just the result that counts, but the introduction of the newcomers who had a great game. I think this victory shows what hard work is behind the team, which allows us to rotate the squad without damaging the performance.

"This team has players who want to dream and know in order to achieve that dream they need to work, work, work," he said.

His Milan counterpart Massimiliano Allegri asked his side to stay calm after the tie.

"We have lost a few too many times recently, but must stay calm and confident of our own abilities, especially as we have an injury crisis on our hands and many players cannot rest the way they ought to.

"There is no pressure on us, because I know the strength of my squad. We've got to continue working to emerge from this situation," he said.

Milan, Juve's closest challengers in the league, were second best for much of the contest, although Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a second-half strike disallowed.

AC Milan's Stephan El Shaarawy (R) celebrates with his teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic after scoring against Juventus in their Italian Cup semi final soccer match at Giuseppe Meazza in Milan, Feb 8, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]