January 3 – Inter Milan secured a place in the final of the Supercoppa Italiana with a 2-0 victory over Atalanta in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday evening, keeping Simone Inzaghi’s side firmly in the hunt for silverware this season, with the Serie A title race, that resume later this month, also tighter than ever.
The match, hosted over 2,000 miles away from Italy in the Saudi Arabian capital, highlighted the challenges of taking domestic competitions abroad. Despite the allure of a high-stakes clash, attendance at the 25,000-capacity stadium was just 16,896, raising questions about fan engagement for fixtures held far from their traditional home.
Dutch fullback Denzel Dumfries proved to be the hero for Inter, netting twice in a standout performance to secure the 2-0 victory. His goals propelled the Nerazzurri into Monday’s final, which will also take place in Riyadh on January 6.
AC Milan will play Juventus later today (Friday) in the other Supercoppa semi-final at Al Awwal Park.
While the result keeps Inter’s hopes alive for their first trophy of the season, the debate around the Supercoppa’s overseas staging will continue, especially given the underwhelming turnout in Saudi Arabia.
Branded as the EA SPORTS FC Supercup, the Supercoppa was increased to a final four format in 2023 and is now being played for the third consecutive season in Saudi Arabia, the fifth time in the last seven editions of the competition.
In 2023, Inter beat Napoli 1-0 in the final in front of a reported crowd of 24,900 in the King Saud University Stadium.
Speaking after the semi-final, Dumfries said: “Yes, this is the first time I’ve scored two goals in my career; I’m very happy about it – but it’s not my best night. We will now focus, and we will do our best during the next game in the final. We will see tomorrow who we face in the final, it’s not our game. We lost against Milan, we drew against Juventus, but they are both important teams.”
Inzaghi praised the performance of his Inter team on a night when they could have scored more than two.
“We got a great approach in the game. Excellent motivation, right mindset, and I praised the whole team. We have taken just one step, and we will wait the next game on Monday. Winning the Supercup is getting hard as we play two games within three to four days. I did many finals thanks to those guys. Tomorrow, whoever deserves it more will play against us.”
Juventus go into their semi-final against AC Milan unbeaten against Italian teams this season, though they have picked up 11 draws in 18 games.
AC Milan, meanwhile, will debut their new manager Sergio Conceicao after Paulo Fonseca was sacked earlier this week and will hope for a ‘new manager bounce’ to see off the invincible Bianconeri.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1735999175labto1735999175ofdlr1735999175owedi1735999175sni@g1735999175niwe.1735999175yrrah1735999175