At the King Fahd International Stadium on Wednesday, Inter Milan convincingly defeated AC Milan 3-0 to retain their Supercoppa Italiana title.
Since the World Cup break, Simone Inzaghi's team has been in far better shape than Milan, and that form was evident in Riyadh, where they jumped out to a 2-0 lead after just 21 minutes. Edin Dzeko, who was instrumental in the opening goal, added a second to complete a fluid team move and give Inter the lead.
Inter, the Coppa Italia champions from the previous campaign, added a third in the 77th minute through Lautaro Martinez to secure a seventh Supercoppa victory, tying them with Milan in that category.
Dzeko's lovely first-time pass found Nicolo Barella's foot, who then passed to Milan-born Dimarco for a straightforward finish for Inter's opening goal in the 10th minute.
Following a VAR review, that goal was upheld. Semi-automatic offside technology was used for the first time in Italian football prior to its introduction in Serie A. After collecting the ball on the left side, Dzeko ran through Sandro Tonali and sent the ball past Ciprian Tatarusanu for Inter's second goal.
A team has not scored twice in the first 25 minutes of a Supercoppa Italiana game since Roma defeated Inter in 2006, and Milan was unable to recover.
After sitting back for most of the second half, Inter added some gloss to the scoreline when Fikayo Tomori failed to clear a long ball and Martinez finished with the outside of his boot.
INTER CATCHES UP TO MILAN
As Serie A's halfway point approaches, Milan is one point ahead of Inter, although they were defeated by their neighbors and are now winless in four games.
Contrarily, Inter has won four and drawn one of its five games so far in 2023, with this one being the most satisfying as it saw them retain the Supercoppa for the first time since 2006. The Nerazzurri have won this championship seven times, which is two less than Juventus and equal to Milan.
DERBY JOY FOR DZEKO
Dzeko helped set up Dimarco's goal with a beautiful touch before scoring himself shortly after with a goal that seemed to turn the clock back.
Dzeko became the oldest goal scorer in Supercoppa Italiana history by passing Cristiano Ronaldo (35y, 350d for Juventus versus Napoli in 2021).
MILAN'S PROBLEMS ON DEFENSE
All three of Inter's goals were way too simple, with the third in particular as Martinez spun in behind a dazed Tomori, though they do deserve credit for their strong attacking play.
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