January 13, (THEWILL) – Inter won the Supercoppa Italiana on Wednesday evening thanks to a late goal from Alexis Sanchez.
Inter, the defending Serie A winners, hosted the match and, as expected, got off to a fast start. Despite Juventus’ exciting early pressing, Simone Inzaghi’s team managed to carve out several opportunities in the first half.
Lautaro Martinez was given far too much space in the penalty box before wasting two promising chances in the first eight minutes, while Nicolo Barella was furious at the referee’s decision not to award him a penalty after colliding with Giorgio Chiellini in the area. The replays showed that Barella had a strong case.
After 25 minutes, Massimiliano Allegri’s team broke the deadlock against the run of play, making Nerazzurri regret their early wastefulness. Alvaro Morata’s cross from the right side took a large deflection from Milan Skriniar before finding the head of an unmarked Weston McKennie, who gladly put Juventus ahead from close range.
Inter, on the other hand, responded admirably to the setback and were eventually granted a penalty kick after Edin Dzeko was illegally bundled over by a clumsy Mattia De Sciglio.
Martinez stepped up and made no mistake this time, blasting home into the top corner 10 minutes after his team had fallen down.
In the early stages of the second half, neither team maintained their intensity, though Inter came close to taking the lead towards the hour mark. Denzel Dumfries was denied a headed goal thanks to a quick one-handed reflex save from Mattia Perin.
Martinez also came close to scoring with his head, but Ivan Perisic’s low drive from inside the penalty area forced Perin into another save. Inter’s progressive domination in the last stages of the tie, however, did not pay off, as Inzaghi’s side was dragged to extra time by the I Bianconeri.
The I Nerazzurri kept up their pressure and should have taken the lead immediately after the restart, but replacement Alexis Sanchez’s inch-perfect pass to the six-yard line went wide.
The Chilean however became the historic hero as he scored the Supercoppa’s latest goal to secure victory for Inter. Matteo Darmian took advantage of a bad touch by Alex Sandro, and quickly teed up Sanchez, who clinically swept home in the 120th minute to bring a relatively monotonous evening to a dramatic conclusion.
