AC Milan defeated arch-rivals Inter Milan 3-2 in the Supercoppa Italiana on Monday night, also known as the Derby della Madonnina. It was thanks to a superb comeback from the Rossoneri which culminated in a last-minute winning goal from Tammy Abraham. The goal enabled AC Milan to lift its 10th all-time Supercoppa at the Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (where today’s match was played).
Inter found themselves in control for the majority of the match, going 2-0 up thanks to strikes from Lautaro Martinez and Mehdi Taremi on either side of the halftime whistle. Five minutes later, Theo Hernandez responded for AC Milan by scoring a powerful free kick from 20 yards out by firing low past the Inter wall.
American Christian Pulisic equalized 2-2 in the 80th minute after Theo Hernandez ran down the wing and crossed it into the box where Pulisic collected and fired a left-foot strike past Inter keeper Yann Sommer. Abraham completed the dramatic comeback just two minutes before the final whistle after Rafael Leao ran onto a sweet through-ball from Pulisic, who squared it to Abraham to tap into the net.
New AC Milan manager Sergio Conceicao took over just before the new year after the club sacked Paulo Fonseca, and he didn’t have to wait long to lift his first trophy for the club. Before his current job, he won the Portuguese league three times with his old club FC Porto, and built his reputation as one of Europe’s most talented young coaches.
For Pulisic, this trophy confirms him as not only the best American player right now, but also as one of the best players in the Italian league. He leads his club in both goals and assists (15) despite a recent injury that kept him on the sidelines for a month. His hot form has also extended to the United States Mens National Team (USMNT), where he’s contributed a goal or assist in each of his last four national team games.
AC Milan’s next game is in the Serie A against relegation-threatened Cagliari. AC Milan, who are currently in 8th place, are looking to boost their position in the table to qualify for European spots (7th and above) after an inconsistent start to the season, and adding a trophy to their cabinet will surely buoy them in the run-in during the second half of the season.
