Inter 2-3 Milan: Conceicao epic comeback wins Supercoppa thriller | OneFootball

Sergio Conceicao’s Milan completed an extraordinary comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in stoppages with Rafael Leao inspiring all three goals, ending Inter’s Supercoppa Italiana domination.

Watch the highlights here

This was a very special Derby della Madonnina at the Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh, after the Nerazzurri beat Atalanta 2-0 in their semi-final, while the Rossoneri fought back for a 2-1 win against Juventus on new coach Conceicao’s debut. Marcus Thuram and Joaquin Correa were not fully fit, with Francesco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard out, so Mehdi Taremi stepped into the starting XI. Rafael Leao was only ready for the bench, with Noah Okafor, Samuel Chukwueze and Alessandro Florenzi injured, but Yunus Musah came in for Ismael Bennacer.

See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.

Malick Thiaw and Mike Maignan combined to stop Lautaro Martinez from six yards after he controlled a long Alessandro Bastoni pass at full stretch and Taremi steered the header wide from a Nicolò Barella cross.

Tijjani Reijnders burst through the centre only to scuff his finish off target, but Maignan flew to palm the ferocious Federico Dimarco strike over after a Taremi counter-attack.

Inter lost Hakan Calhanoglu to an adductor issue on 35 minutes, replaced by Kristjan Asllani and adding to their injury problems.

Bastoni made a crucial interception to prevent Alex Jimenez rolling across for the Alvaro Morata tap-in, but Inter took the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Emerson Royal was surprised by a quick Dimarco throw-in for Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Taremi kept it moving left to right for Lautaro Martinez, who cut back inside Thiaw to drill through Theo Hernandez’s legs into the near bottom corner. It was the Argentine’s fourth Supercoppa Italiana goal, equalling the Paulo Dybala record.

epa11810265 Inter’s Lautaro Martinez (L) celebrates after scoring the 1-0 goal during the Supercoppa Italiana final match between FC Inter and AC Milan, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 06 January 2025. EPA-EFE/STRINGER

The Nerazzurri doubled their lead within 60 seconds of the restart, as Taremi showed great skill to control a long ball over the top, the first touch setting him up perfectly to sweep into the near bottom corner with the inside of the right boot.

Rafael Leao was thrown on and made an immediate impact, brought down by Mkhitaryan for a free kick from the edge of the area, which Theo Hernandez curled around the wall to surprise Yann Sommer at the near post.

Mkhitaryan tested Maignan, while both Thiaw and Christian Pulisic couldn’t get enough power on their finishes from close range.

Milan had a huge opportunity to equalise on 62 minutes when Leao sprinted past Yann Bisseck and pulled back from the by-line for Reijnders, but Bastoni threw himself in the way to charge down the finish with his face from seven yards.

Moments later, Sommer made a desperate save at the back post on Alvaro Morata’s header, while Taremi just failed to connect with a Dumfries ball rolled across the six-yard box.

Dumfries also stood up a cross to the back post for the Carlos Augusto header, which clipped the upright and partly crossed the line, but not completely before Maignan could gather.

Milan completed the comeback for 2-2 when Rafael Leao sent Theo Hernandez sprinting down the left, he pulled it back for Pulisic to control and turn low into the far bottom corner from 12 yards.

Maignan rushed off his line to narrow the angle from Dumfries after Thiaw’s sliding tackle on Davide Frattesi, but Milan had one more shock in their back pocket.

At the 93rd minute, Rafael Leao ran onto the Pulisic through ball down the right flank and pulled it across for substitute Tammy Abraham’s tap-in from a couple of yards. It was the comeback from 0-2 to 3-2 and took Milan to their first trophy under new coach Sergio Conceicao.

Inter 2-3 Milan

Lautaro Martinez 45 (I), Taremi 46 (I), Theo Hernandez 52 (M), Pulisic 80 (M), Abraham 93 (M)

Inter: Sommer; Bisseck, De Vrji (Darmian 85), Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella (Frattesi 85), Calhanoglu (Asllani 35), Mkhitaryan (Zielinski 65), Dimarco (Carlos Augusto 65); Taremi, Lautaro Martinez

Milan: Maignan; Emerson Royal (Calabria 87), Thiaw, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Musah (Loftus-Cheek 77), Fofana; Jimenez (Leao 50), Reijnders (Abraham 77), Pulisic; Morata

Ref: Sozza