AC Milan battled back and secured a 2-1 win over Juventus in the Italian Super Cup as Sergio Conceicao picked up a victory in his first game in charge.
The Rossoneri fell behind in the first half, but a Christian Pulisic penalty and an own goal from Federico Gatti saw us turn things around to advance to the Final on Monday to face Inter.
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There was a late scare as the Bianconeri went close to finding an equaliser which could have forced penalties, but fortunately Milan were able to hold out and pick up the win to ensure our time in Saudi Arabia isn’t over just yet.
Conceicao deserves praise for inspiring win
Despite only having a few days to prepare his players, the Portuguese tactician got enough of his ideas across to get a reaction from them in this encounter.
Albeit there was a breakdown in the lead-up to Juve’s goal, we looked more disciplined and organised defensively through the opening stages, and that continued as we launched our comeback.
It can’t have been easy for Conceicao to get the team playing as close to what he would like in such a short space of time, and equally, it must have been difficult for the players to take those instructions in and execute, yet both sides ultimately delivered.
Substitutions prove to be decisive
From Yunus Musah’s cross taking the deflection that led to our winner, Tammy Abraham and Filippo Terracciano giving us renewed energy or Matteo Gabbia producing a decisive last-gasp block, our changes were critical.
There was a more positive intent about our play in the second half which set the tone, with Conceicao revealing in his post-match interviews that he was angry with his players at the break and demanded more from them to implement what they had been working on during the week.
Combined with the personnel, our substitutions were fundamental to the outcome, and that’s another positive sign from our new coach.
Pulisic returns, key influence as ever
It was great to see Pulisic make his comeback from injury, and although he wasn’t at his sharpest and will need to build up his match fitness, he makes such an important difference.
He was decisive in the second half as he won our penalty and then proceeded to smash home our equaliser himself, and particularly without Rafael Leao, he gives us a much-needed spark in the attacking third.
Hopefully, the USA international has come through unscathed and will be ready to go again in the Final, but it’s such an important boost for Conceicao to have him available as he starts his tenure.
Theo defending under the spotlight
As one of the senior players in the squad, Theo Hernandez will be judged at a higher standard, and Conceicao will be looking to him to lead by example.
His defending though was once again under the spotlight in this game, as he got his positioning and body shape horribly wrong and was subsequently caught out for Juve’s goal.
For a player of his experience and importance, he can’t allow that to happen as it can set the wrong tone on the pitch. His new boss will demand better, but he must demand more of himself too as we enter a fresh start.
Crucial win to build confidence
While it was important for Conceicao to get his principles across and have the players buy in as quickly as possible, it was even more crucial that we produced a positive performance and result to back that up and create belief within the group.
This win, and the manner in which it arrived having had to battle back from behind, will hopefully build confidence and get that buy-in from the players, as we look to now build on that and keep improving.
It will be another difficult test against Inter in the Final, but hopefully with more time to prepare and formulate a winning gameplan, we can back this result up with another to start building momentum under our new boss.