January 6 – AC Milan will meet Inter Milan in tonight’s Supercoppa Italiana after new boss Sergio Conceicao christened his first game in charge with an important 2-1 over Juventus at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the final four format is being hosted.
The result over Juventus simultaneously marked manager Thiago Motta’s first domestic loss of the season alongside Conceico’s return to club coaching. Conceicao left Porto, where he managed for seven years, in the summer, returning to management after Paulo Fonseca was sacked last week.
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.
The match against Juventus saw the Portuguese manager denied the opportunity to compete against his son Francisco, who was ruled out for the match due to a minor injury.
The youngster moved to Juventus from Porto in the summer on a surprising loan after the winger impressed for Portugal during the Euros. Reports suggest the loan was made possible after conflict stemming from his father’s departure from the club in the same period.
Turkish winger Yildiz opened the scoring for Juventus in the first half, but Milan came back with two quick goals in the 71st minute through Christian Pulisic and a 75th minute own-goal by Federico Gatti to flip the game on its head.
“We made many mistakes in the first half, but we changed the game in the second half. We need to be brave and believe in what we do. We changed strategy and that was a good one. I noticed strong teamwork, the players united, and I’m happy about that,” said Conceicao.
Juventus manager Motta was more sanguine: “We did a great first half, we took control and scored. In the second half we were able to close the game, but some mistakes were crucial. We need to work every day in order to improve. I truly believe that we have the abilities to perform better. Right away in a defeat, it is hard to find something positive. We will analyse the whole performance and we will do our best to improve.”
Simeone Inzaghi’s Inter beat Atalanta 2-0 on Thursday, with both goals coming from Dutch fullback Denzel Dumfries. It was a statement win for the Serie A holders, who currently trail Atalanta in the league by one point, though they do have a game in hand.
Their mutual rival Napoli, though, extended their lead at the top of the table with a win over Fiorentina on Saturday. Inter can still catch up, though, with two games in hand to close the four-point difference.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1736364584labto1736364584ofdlr1736364584owedi1736364584sni@g1736364584niwe.1736364584yrrah1736364584