AC Milan won the Supercoppa Italiana with a dramatic 3-2 victory against Inter in Saudi Arabia on Monday night. A fantastic start to a new era.
In the lead-up to the game, Sergio Conceicao was quite open about his ambition to win the Supercoppa, stating he had confidence about his team’s chances to bring home the trophy.
Two Inter goals on either side of the half-time interval quickly caused a bit of worry amongst Milan supporters, but things very quickly changed. In the 50th minute, the Portuguese looked to his bench and brought Rafael Leao onto the pitch, and within two minutes, his side had halved the deficit.
10 minutes from time, Christian Pulisic combined with the first goalscorer, Theo Hernandez, to draw the Rossoneri level, and after a solid showing in the second half, there was hope that the Diavolo would be the ones leaving Saudi Arabia with the silverware.
It would not require an extra 30 minutes though, as in the drying embers of the game, Pulisic threaded a ball into Leao, and the Portuguese found Tammy Abraham to score the winner.
A first Supercoppa since 2016 and the first trophy of the Gerry Cardinale era, here are the key stats.
All the Key Stats
As Milan will probably become accustomed to, Inter had more of the ball in the game, and this was the case in both halves rather than just the second half – like was the case against Juventus. From this, we can tell Conceicao had told his side to be more effective with the ball, and this shows.
Despite having less of the ball, the Rossoneri managed five big chances in the game, more than their opposition’s three, which shows that having less amount of the ball will not mean a lack of chances.
In addition to this, the Diavolo were quite effective with their shots, with more than half of their attempts being on target, and more than a third of the shots on target being goals. Hopefully, something that will only continue to get better with time.
Mr. Reliable
Where to start with Christian Pulisic. A few years ago, he was deemed the LeBron James of soccer, and Milan fans would not disagree with that at this point. On several occasions, the midfielder has been pivotal and the Supercoppa is another fine example of it.
A penalty against Juventus on his comeback was proof, but then an equaliser and pre-assist against Inter in the final 15 minutes of the game is ludicrous. His impact is second to none for the Rossoneri, and with his impact off the pitch too, Cardinale will want to keep building around his star.
With his goal last night, it meant that he has hit 10 or more goals in both campaigns for the Diavolo, a feat which he has managed just once prior to his move to San Siro – the 2019/20 season with Chelsea. In other words, Captain America is Mr. Reliable, he passes the stat and eye test.
Instant Hit
Before the Supercoppa, there was hope that the Rossoneri would show themselves well. If they didn’t win the competition, there were injuries to deal with which weakened the squad, but above all, a new coach had just come through the door.
For this reason, expectations were effectively non-existent. This was not the case for Conceicao, though. Instead, the Portuguese wanted to show people what he and his team wanted to do, and after a win against Juventus, there were signs that something special could occur.
To then beat Inter from a two-goal disadvantage proves why the Diavolo were right to move forward with the former Porto manager. It is already clear that the players are on board with his work, and the fans are very much so too.
After all, he is the fastest trophy winner for Milan since the 1929/30 season, a phenomenal record.
