Sports
Inter 2-3 Milan: Conceicao Epic Comeback Wins Supercoppa Thriller
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Inter 2-3 Milan: Conceicao epic comeback wins Supercoppa thriller
By Susy Campanale
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – JANUARY 06: Christian Pulisic of AC Milan celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Italian Super Cup Final between FC Internazionale and AC Milan at Kingdom Arena on January 06, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty
Sergio Conceicao’s Milan completed an extraordinary comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in stoppages with Rafael Leao inspiring all three goals, ending Inter’s Supercoppa Italiana domination.
This was a very special Derby della Madonnina at the Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh, after the Nerazzurri beat Atalanta 2-0 in their semi-final, while the Rossoneri fought back for a 2-1 win against Juventus on new coach Conceicao’s debut. Marcus Thuram and Joaquin Correa were not fully fit, with Francesco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard out, so Mehdi Taremi stepped into the starting XI. Rafael Leao was only ready for the bench, with Noah Okafor, Samuel Chukwueze and Alessandro Florenzi injured, but Yunus Musah came in for Ismael Bennacer.
Malick Thiaw and Mike Maignan combined to stop Lautaro Martinez from six yards after he controlled a long Alessandro Bastoni pass at full stretch and Taremi steered the header wide from a Nicolò Barella cross.
Tijjani Reijnders burst through the centre only to scuff his finish off target, but Maignan flew to palm the ferocious Federico Dimarco strike over after a Taremi counter-attack.
Inter lost Hakan Calhanoglu to an adductor issue on 35 minutes, replaced by Kristjan Asllani and adding to their injury problems.
Bastoni made a crucial interception to prevent Alex Jimenez rolling across for the Alvaro Morata tap-in, but Inter took the lead on the stroke of half-time.
Emerson Royal was surprised by a quick Dimarco throw-in for Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Taremi kept it moving left to right for Lautaro Martinez, who cut back inside Thiaw to drill through Theo Hernandez’s legs into the near bottom corner. It was the Argentine’s fourth Supercoppa Italiana goal, equalling the Paulo Dybala record.
epa11810265 Inter’s Lautaro Martinez (L) celebrates after scoring the 1-0 goal during the Supercoppa Italiana final match between FC Inter and AC Milan, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 06 January 2025. EPA-EFE/STRINGER
The Nerazzurri doubled their lead within 60 seconds of the restart, as Taremi showed great skill to control a long ball over the top, the first touch setting him up perfectly to sweep into the near bottom corner with the inside of the right boot.
