A second-half brace from Denzel Dumfries on Thursday earned Inter a 2-0 win over Atalanta BC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to reach the Supercoppa Italiana final, where the Serie A champions will aim to win the trophy for the fourth successive time.
In Monday’s final, Inter will meet the winner of yesterday’s second semi-final between Juventus and AC Milan.
While Inter manager Simone Inzaghi went with his strongest available 11, Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gasperini, already without top scorer Mateo Retegui through injury, surprisingly left both Ademola Lookman and Charles de Ketelaere on the bench.
Photo: AP
The opening half ended scoreless, mostly thanks to Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, who first denied Lautaro Martinez with a reflex save from close range.
Carnesecchi then pulled off a double save, parrying away a powerful Martinez shot, then quickly getting back to his feet to stop Federico Dimarco’s effort from the rebound.
Atalanta had one decent chance in the first half, thanks to a poor headed clearance from Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni which left Giorgio Scalvini with a header from close range that he sent straight at goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
After halftime, Inter forced a couple of early corner kicks and took the lead when the ball came to Dumfries in the six-yard box. With his back to goal the Dutchman controlled with a header before firing an overhead-shot into the net.
Gasperini responded by sending on Lookman and De Ketelaere, along with Ederson, but it was Inter who found the second goal on the counter just when Atalanta began to look dangerous.
Dimarco’s cross-field pass missed Mehdi Taremi, but fell to Dumfries who hit a scorching first-time shot that left Carnesecchi with no chance as it went in off the crossbar.
“We know how difficult it is against Atalanta, they give us few spaces,” Bastoni told SportMediaset. “In these situations, individual talent must shine and today Denzel did just this.”
Martinez should have put Inter out of sight when put through by Dimarco and with just the goalkeeper to beat, but again he was unable to beat Carnesecchi.
Inter were almost made to pay minutes later when Ederson found the net, but the goal was ruled out for an offside, then in stoppage-time it was Sommer’s turn for some heroics, pulling off a double save from Berat Djimsiti and Lookman.
Martinez still had time for another poor miss, but Inter deservedly overcame an Atalanta side who probably paid the price for their initial team selection.
“We have a lot of players. We have had a very demanding run in the league and it was the right time to test players who have not played much from the start,” Gasperini said.
“I didn’t snub the competition, we tried to win and found a very strong team. We made a few too many mistakes,” he said.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to