Pulisic and Leao power Milan to victory in Supercoppa Italiana final, as club overturns a two-goal deficit against Inter
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Milan defeat Inter 3-2 in the Supercoppa Italiana finalThree-goal second half comeback hands them the trophyPulisic scored the second goal for RossoneriFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱AFPTELL ME MORE
Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah claimed the Supercoppa Italiana on Monday, as AC Milan rallied past arch-rivals Inter Milan 3-2 in a thrilling match at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Three goals in the second half saw the come from behind to defeat the , with Pulisic scoring the second and earning a secondary assist on the game-winner.
Inter's Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring in first half stoppage-time, leading his squad into the break with a 1-0 lead. Minutes out of the gate, they doubled their lead through Iranian forward Mehdi Taremi, giving them a 2-0 lead and all of the momentum in the match.
Then, Rafael Leao was substituted into the match for Milan, and everything changed.
The Portugal international earned a freekick outside the box in the 53rd minute, and fullback Theo Hernandez stepped up to drive home a blistering effort into the bottom-left corner to earn them a goal back. With 10 minutes to spare and still down a goal, the same duo combined again, with Leao feeding Hernandez on the wing, who then sent a cross into the box where he found Pulisic – who after two touches on the ball drilled home into the bottom-right corner to draw level at 2-2 in the 80th minute.
With momentum, Milan kept pushing, and in the 93rd minute, it paid off.
The found the game-winner in stoppage-time, after Pulisic drove down the right side of the pitch to find Leao in the box, who sent the ball into danger past Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer. It found the boot of fellow substitute Tammy Abraham, who tapped home to pure jubilation from all his teammates on the pitch.
After being down two goals, Pulisic, Leao, and Hernandez helped spearhead a comeback for the ages to claim their first trophy of the season and the first under the reign of new manager Sergio Conceicao. In addition to the silverware, Milan are also awarded €8m in prize money for the competition.
For Pulisic and Musah, it's their first title with the Italian club, as they establish themselves as one of Europe's elite teams. This is Milan's eighth Supercoppa Italiana win, with their last victory in this competition coming in 2016.
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In his first two matches as manager, Sergio Conceicao has beaten Juventus and Inter Milan with come-from-behind victories to secure the Supercoppa Italiana. Both direct rivals of Milan's, the era of the Portuguese manager is well underway, with two outstanding results to begin his tenure in charge.
AFPTHE MVP: RAFAEL LEAO
A direct contributor to all three goals for Milan, Leao came off the bench and completely changed the match. The Portugal international earned the foul that that saw Hernandez earn the an initial goal back, and on the second, he played the initial ball to Hernandez who then found Pulisic to draw level.
In stoppage time, the 25-year-old sent the cross into the middle of the box that found Abraham to score their third and secure victory. It was the perfect cameo and a near-perfect performance from the Portuguese star.
AFPTHE BIG LOSER: INTER'S DEFENSE
The conceded three unanswered in the second half, having no answer for Leao, Pulisic, and Hernandez. They tried to absorb pressure but were unable to clear the ball from danger on the two goals from open play, and were caught off guard on the freekick from Hernandez early in the second half.
With a lead heading into halftime, they felt as confident as ever, but as Milan heated up, they imploded.