Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh (AP) Sergio Conceicaoto won his first trophy as AC Milan coach in precisely one week of employment, including two comeback victories.
Milan won the Italian Super Cup on Monday after rallying from a two-goal deficit to defeat city rival Inter Milan 3-2.
Coming off the bench, Rafael Leao contributed to Milan’s three goals through Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham, and Theo Hernandez.
Conceicao led the Rossoneri to a thrilling victory over Juventus in the semifinals after being appointed to replace Paulo Fonseca, who was sacked last Monday.
This time, Mehdi Taremi and Lautaro Martinez gave Inter the lead with goals just before halftime.
Hernandez curled in around Inter’s wall after Leao was given a free kick following a foul.
Then, in a play that started with Leao, Pulisic completed a counterattack by shooting through Augusto’s legs.
Leao gave Pulisic a through pass, who then passed it to Abraham, who tapped into an empty net in stoppage time to score the third goal.
It was the second year of an extended four-team format and the fifth time the competition has been held in Saudi Arabia in the previous seven years.
Inter’s lone serious chance of the half came from a throw-in when Taremi delivered the ball inside the area to Lautaro, who cut back before shooting through Hernandez’s legs.
Christian Pulisic of AC Milan celebrates as his team scores the second goal in Monday, January 6, 2025, during the Italian Super Cup final soccer match between AC Milan and Inter Milan at Al Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP)
Shortly after the interval, Taremi, who was replacing the injured Marcus Thuram, completed a counterattack.
On Saturday, Milan takes on Cagliari in its first Serie A game under Conceicao. Despite being in ninth place, the Rossoneri will be lot more confident when they play in the league again.
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