RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Inter Milan, the defending Serie A champion, continued its recent dominance over current league leader Atalanta with a 2-0 triumph in the Italian Super Cup semifinals on Thursday. Denzel Dumfries netted two goals in the second half for the Nerazzurri, who have now secured victories in seven consecutive matches against Atalanta.
In the other semifinal clash on Friday, Juventus is set to take on AC Milan, with Sergio Conceicao making his debut as Milan’s coach following the dismissal of Paulo Fonseca. The final of the four-team tournament in Saudi Arabia is scheduled for Monday, where Inter will aim to clinch the Super Cup for the fourth consecutive year.
Dumfries opened the scoring with a spectacular overhead kick from close range before sealing the win with a long-range strike off a counterattack. Inter posed a threat multiple times in the first half but was repeatedly thwarted by Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi’s impressive saves.
At the start, Atalanta surprisingly chose to keep Ademola Lookman, Charles De Ketelaere, and Ederson on the bench. However, the trio was introduced near the hour mark, with Ederson seeing a potential goal disallowed for offside following a VAR review.
Inter had previously secured 4-0 victories over Atalanta twice in Serie A last year, in February and August. Currently, Atalanta and Napoli hold a one-point advantage over Inter, who possess a game in hand.
The only setback for Inter was the halftime departure of Marcus Thuram due to an apparent left thigh issue.
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