August 08, (THEWILL) – Moussa Diaby led Al Ittihad to a 2-0 victory against Inter Milan in a pre-season friendly at the U-Power Stadium on Wednesday. The French winger scored two goals, bringing his tally to three in four matches since joining the Saudi club from Aston Villa.
Inter Milan, the current Serie A champions, suffered their first defeat of the pre-season. The loss comes just days before their final warm-up match against Chelsea this weekend, which will conclude their preparations for the upcoming campaign.
The Saudi team took the lead in the 25th minute when Houssem Aouar set up Diaby, who fired past Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Despite Inter’s seven first-half shots compared to Al Ittihad’s four, the Italian side found themselves trailing at the break.
Two minutes into the second half, Al Ittihad doubled their advantage. A misplaced pass from Alessandro Bastoni led to a shot from Ahmed Al Ghamdi, which Sommer saved. However, Diaby pounced on the rebound to net his second goal of the match.
Although Inter Milan improved their attacking play in the latter stages, they failed to test Al Ittihad goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic. Laurent Blanc’s team held firm to maintain their clean sheet and secure the win on Italian soil.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.