Magic from Dumfries, Inter beat Atalanta and fly into the final of the Supercoppa

For the fourth consecutive year, Inter will play in the Supercoppa Italiana. In the semi-final at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Denzel Dumfries' brilliant brace took Inter to the final: a 2-0 win against Atalanta paves the way to the final on 6 January, against either Juventus or AC Milan (who will play tomorrow).

Forty-five minutes of all-out football, with an endless downpour of goalscoring opportunities. Eleven shots in one half, three in the first 30 seconds, eight attempts from inside the area, Carnesecchi was brilliant throughout. Inter’s impact in Riyadh was devastating, it was incredible that the score was 0-0 at the break.

To find the right spark, something extraordinary was needed, especially given that Inter rarely score ordinary goals. Inter made a change at the break with Taremi replacing Thuram (out due to a slight injury in his left adductor). Denzel Dumfries asserted himself as Superman, and not by chance, in a match defined by his relentless running, substance and unstoppable bursts of pace. In the 48th minute, he came up with a brilliant overhead-kick in the area, like a true centre forward. This unique display of technique and athletic brilliance broke the deadlock after a chaotic scramble in the box following a corner.

Gasperini brought on Atalanta’s most anticipated trio after conceding: Lookman, De Ketelaere and Ederson all came on. Three players capable of coming on and shifting the momentum of the game, which had all been in favour of Inter until that point. But, Inter doubled their lead with another piece of brilliance from Denzel Dumfries. The Flying Dutchman struck again, this time with thunderous strike from outside the box, finishing off a counter-attack launched by Barella, driven forward by Dimarco and Taremi. Denzel’s finish smashed off the crossbar and into the back of the net. And there he was, the number 2, knee-sliding in celebration.

INTER 2-0 ATALANTA | LIVE TABLE

Scorers: 49' and 61' Dumfries (I) INTER (3-5-2): 1 Sommer; 31 Bisseck, 6 De Vrij, 95 Bastoni (30 Carlos Augusto 67'); 2 Dumfries, 23 Barella (16 Frattesi 81'), 20 Calhanoglu (21 Asllani 67'), 22 Mkhitaryan, 32 Dimarco; 9 Thuram (99 Taremi 46'), 10 Lautaro. Subs: 13 J. Martinez, 40 Calligaris, 7 Zielinski, 8 Arnautovic, 11 Correa, 16 Frattesi, 17 Buchanan, 21 Asllani, 42 Palacios, 50 Aidoo, 51 Alexiou, 52 Berenbruch. Coach: Simone Inzaghi. ATALANTA (3-4-2-1): 29 Carnesecchi; 3 Kossounou 27 Palestra, 4 Hien, 23 Kolasinac; 77 Zappacosta, 15 De Roon, 42 Scalvini (19 Djimsiti 62'), 22 Ruggeri (13 Ederson 56'); 24 Samardzic (17 De Ketelaere 56'), 44 Brescianini; 10 Zaniolo (11 Lookman 56'). Subs: 28 Rui Patrício, 31 Rossi, 2 Toloi, 6 Sulemana, 8 Pašalić,16 Bellanova, 48 Vlahović. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini. Booked: Scalvini (A), Carlos Augusto (I) Stoppage time: 0'- 6'. Referee: Chiffi. Assistants: Cecconi, Bahri. Fourth officials: Zufferli. VAR: Abisso. Assistant VAR: Meraviglia.

MATCH SCHEDULE

Thursday 2 January 20:00 CET (22:00 local time), INTER vs Atalanta Friday 3 January 20:00 CET (22:00 local time), Juventus vs AC Milan Monday 6 January 20:00 CET (22:00 local time), Final