Inter Milan’s ambition to capture an unprecedented fourth consecutive Supercoppa Italiana title remains intact following their 2-0 triumph over Serie A leaders Atalanta in the semi-final on Thursday evening. Achieving such a milestone would place Simone Inzaghi’s team on par with Juventus, both holding nine titles, cementing their status as one of the foremost teams in Italian football in recent times.
Heading into this final, Inter are enjoying an impressive streak, having secured seven consecutive victories in domestic contests, each by at least a two-goal margin. The Nerazzurri’s success isn’t solely based on their attacking prowess; defensively, they have maintained five clean sheets in six matches during this period, including an uninterrupted streak of five. Their hallmark is strong starts, having opened the scoring in 17 of their last 19 competitive games, beginning with a first-minute goal against Udinese in September.
AC Milan’s new manager, Sergio Conceição, made an impressive start with the team. During their semi-final match against Juventus, he expressed his frustration with the players at half-time, inspiring a remarkable second-half turnaround. Conceição’s tactics proved effective, and he is now determined to surpass their 2022 performance when AC Milan was defeated 3-0 in the final by Inter. With Conceição emphatically stating he is “not here to make friends, but to win,” fans can anticipate a fiercely competitive Rossoneri side taking to the pitch once more.
This encounter marks only the third time the Supercoppa Italiana final has featured a Milan Derby, following the competitions in 2011 and 2022, where each team claimed victory once. Although recent head-to-head results have not been favourable for AC Milan, as their 2-1 win in September was their first success in seven meetings (losing six), there are encouraging signs. After failing to score in four consecutive encounters, AC Milan have managed to find the back of the net in their last three head-to-head matches, a streak last achieved between 2020 and 2021.
Players to keep an eye on: Denzel Dumfries made waves with a second-half double against Atalanta, marking his first brace for Inter. Notably, his last six goals for the club have all come in the latter half of the game. Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic found the back of the net first in AC Milan’s unexpected 2-1 triumph in their initial head-to-head clash this season, and he also scored the equaliser against Juventus in the semi-final.
Interesting fact: In just two of Inter’s recent 13 competitive games have both teams managed to score, with Inter winning 11, drawing once, and losing once.
