Inter beat Napoli 1-0 and win the Italian Super Cup for the third time in a row. The final played in Riyadh was decided by a goal by Lautaro Martinez in the 91st minute.
Inter are queens of the Super Cup. Napoli put in their heart and determination, the Nerazzurri put in their concreteness and found the winning move from Lautaro Martinez in injury time: thus, with the 1-0 they celebrated in Riyadh by winning their third consecutive Super Cup. The Italian champions were defeated in the result but showed signs of a clear recovery. Outnumbered for practically the entire second half due to Simeone’s expulsion for a second yellow card, Mazzarri’s team tried to resist to play for the trophy on penalties but had to bow to the class of Lautaro, the undisputed top scorer in the league and hero of the evening.
Simone Inzaghi becomes the most successful coach of this trophy with five successes, a real record. A few moments after the kick-off the news of Gigi Riva’s death arrives in Riyadh when the teams are practically already lined up, so much so that the minute of silence to remember ‘Rombo di Tuono’ is observed at the beginning of the second half between the whistles from the Arab public – who evidently didn’t know Riva – and the applause from the players and benches.
Napoli-Inter decides the final of the Italian Super Cup, the last act of the competition which for the first time has developed in the new four-team format, at the Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh, the venue where Napoli plays in the Saudi Pro League Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr. The winning team doesn’t change, or almost nothing. Mazzarri confirms the three-man defense and the starting eleven seen against Fiorentina, with the new Zerbin, deployed from the 1st minute in place of Mario Rui and with Mazzocchi on the opposite side. Trust still goes to Giovanni Simeone who is preferred to Raspadori, while Zielinski starts from the bench. Simone Inzaghi, however, has to give up Bastoni, replaced by Acerbi while opting for De Vrij as the only central midfielder.
Darmian confirmed on the right, Frattesi still on the bench behind Barella and Mkhitaryan. Napoli and Inter face each other head on. The Italian champions press high with careful defence, Inter look for spaces to sink. The result was a competitively intense first half with the Nerazzurri threatening on a couple of occasions – the most appetizing one with Di Marco from distance in the 15th minute – including Lautaro’s goal at the end of the first half, disallowed due to the offside of Thuram. On the other hand, Napoli never managed to worry Inter’s defense too much. The second half follows the leitmotif of the first half. In the 6th minute the first real opportunity arrives for the Neapolitans with Kvaratskhelia who forces Sommer to deflect a corner kick. Many warnings from one side and the other.
In the 12th minute Thuram tries from distance but Gollini is confident in the catch. And in the 16th minute Simeone was sent off for a second yellow card for a stomp on Acerbi. With Napoli outnumbered, Inter tries to sink. Thuram has at least two chances but doesn’t finish them. Napoli defend themselves with their teeth, Inter try to break through but are imprecise.
In the first of five minutes of injury time, Lautaro Martinez’s strike arrives and decides the final: a triangle on the right, Pavard puts it in the middle and the Argentine scores. Now it’s time for the Nerazzurri to dive back into the championship in search of temporary league leaders Juventus.
Italian Super Cup Final – Napoli vs Inter Milan
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2024-01-22 22:26:04
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