Hibs Scottish Cup hero turns European giant killer as he helps down Juventus in Italian stunner

Former Hibs midfielder Liam Henderson is just 90 minutes away from another cup final after playing his part in Empoli’s shock Coppa Italia quarter-final win at Italian giants Juventus.

The Serie A strugglers put their league woes behind them to pull off a huge 4-2 penalty-shootout win at the Allianz Arena, with Henderson playing the full 90 minutes of a 1-1 draw before scoring his shootout effort. One of the 2016 heroes held his own against the likes of Khephren Thuram and Weston McKennie on an incredible night for Tuscany-based side.

Empoli were winless in 11 matches going into the cup tie but took an early lead through Youssef Maleh. Juventus’ continued pressure eventually paid off when Thuram equalised on the hour mark but the visitors kept their composure to take it to penalties, with Henderson scoring the first of his side’s four successful spot-kicks while Dusan Vlahovic and Kenan Yildiz missed for the hosts.

Victory set up a semi-final tie for Empoli against Bologna, who are captained by Henderson’s fellow Scot and former Aberdeen defender Lewis Ferguson, a two-legged clash to be played across April. And victory would put Henderson’s Empoli into a Coppa Italia final against one of AC Milan or Inter Milan.

“The lads wrote a page in the history books for this club and we can use this for our Serie A future, because we’ve got a crucial game coming up this weekend in Genoa,” head coach Roberto D’Aversa said following his side’s win. “We were coming off a heavy defeat, so I asked the lads to give a response with their pride and they went above and beyond that.

"We will enjoy this wonderful achievement, also considering there were three players who were products of our youth academy. I hope this will show the players that if they approach games with this attitude every time, then we will certainly achieve our objective.

“During the penalties, the lads were calm like veterans, despite there being so many youngsters in the side. It was a difficult moment and I won’t lie, I was not expecting this. Taking those penalties at the end with the Juventus ultras was all the more remarkable. We take this wonderful qualification, but also the confidence that the result will give us going forward.”

Henderson spent just a season on loan at Hibs from Scottish Premiership rivals Celtic, but it was an excellent campaign for him and the club, who claimed the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1902. The midfielder came on with just 20 minutes left and his side 2-1 down to Rangers, with a pair of assists Anthony Stokes and David Gray to secure an incredible 3-2 win.

All in all, Henderson played 48 games across all competitions for Hibs, with spells at Bari, Hellas Verona, Lecce, Palermo and Empoli to follow.