The five key battles that could win or lose the game for Milan against Inter | OneFootball

AC Milan and Inter will meet in the final of the Supercoppa Italiana for the second time in three years, and the Rossoneri can claim their 50th major trophy.

It will be just his second game in charge, but Sergio Conceicao can get a first Milan trophy under his belt, and against the team he played for in the early 2000s no less.

The Rossoneri came from behind to beat Juventus 2-1 to qualify, while the Nerazzurri ran out 2-0 victors over Atalanta in the other semi-final to reach this showpiece event in Saudi Arabia.

The five key battles

What is rather intriguing is the mystery there seems to be regarding the way that Conceicao will set Milan up, amid reports that he tried three different formations on the eve of the game.

Looking at the key battles, we start with the one that has some serious history: Denzel Dumfries versus Theo Hernandez. Dumfries has scored five goals in 22 appearances across all competitions and netted a brace against La Dea on Thursday to power his side to the win.

However, Milan are the team he has faced most often (nine times) without ever scoring since joining Inter in 2021-22. Him and Theo do not get along as the previous altercations show, but the Frenchman is not in anywhere near as good form and has to improve defensively to keep his opponent quiet.

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Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic was the game-changer for Milan on Friday against Juventus, winning and converting the penalty. He has nine goals in 21 appearances this season and is close to reaching double figures for the second consecutive season across all competitions (15 goals in 50 matches in 2023-24).

The papers are predicting that he will either play on the left or just off the striker Alvaro Morata. That would put him up against Yann Bisseck, the 24-year-old right-sided central defender for Inter who is now flourishing in a starting spot, having signed from Aarhus Gymnastikforening in Denmark in an under-the-radar deal.

With Marcus Thuram out due to injury, the Nerazzurri captain Lautaro Martinez will have to step up amid a difficult season so far (by his high standards) with just seven goals to his name. His record against Milan of eight goals in 17 games (11 of them wins) is an impressive one, and he has a knack for scoring in the ‘big’ derbies.

Fikayo Tomori is expected to retain his spot in the starting line-up and – after a performance against Juve that grew as the game went on – he will look to repay Conceicao’s faith. In the last Supercoppa final between the sides, Lautaro got the better of him in the second half for the third goal after he misjudged a ball over the top, an error that must be avoided.

In truth, any of the midfield battles could have been highlighted, such as Tijjani Reijnders against Hakan Calhanoglu or Yunus Musah against Henrikh Mkhitaryan (potentially flipped depending on the role of the Dutchman), but Nicolo Barella against Youssouf Fofana is the one that really stands out.

Milan signed Fofana in the summer potentially with games like this in mind: the side got caught out in transition too many times against good opponents. He must limit Barella who is the creative and combative heart of Simone Inzaghi’s midfield trio (seven goal contributions this season), but the Frenchman having six assists is not something to ignore either and he has an eye for a through ball.

Finally, we end with the opposite flank to Theo’s and the duel between Federico Dimarco and Emerson Royal. Emerson’s performance against Juventus has divided opinion with some thinking it was one of his better outings since joining and others believing he was once again quite shaky.

Dimarco meanwhile feels this game more than most given he is an Inter fan, and he has faced Milan 13 times – the joint-most of any opponent. He has four goal contributions (two goals, two assists) across those meetings, including the opener in the 2023 Super Cup game out in the Middle East, which began an eventual 3-0 rout for the blue side of the city.