RIYADH: Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries revealed his delight at netting the first double of his career as Inter Milan beat Atalanta 2-0 in Riyadh to earn a place in the EA Sports FC Italian Super Cup final.
The right wing-back’s first goal at Al-Awwal Park came just after half-time when he chested the ball in the air with his back to goal before acrobatically swiveling and volleying into the goal. The second arrived on the hour mark from the edge of the box when he expertly sidefooted into the net off the underside of the bar from Federico Dimarco’s through pass.
Dumfries said: “Yes, this is the first time I’ve scored two goals in my career. I’m very happy about it, but it’s not my best night. We will now focus, and we will do our best during the next game in the final. We will see tomorrow who we face in the final. It’s not our game. We lost against Milan, we drew against Juventus, but they are both important teams.”
Inter can now win their third Super Cup in a row in Riyadh. Having beaten city rivals AC Milan 3-0 in 2022 and Napoli 1-0 last year in Riyadh, Inter face either Juventus or AC Milan in Monday’s final at Al-Awwal Park. The other finalists will be decided at the same venue on Friday. Another Italian Super Cup victory would equal a record four in succession for Inter, having beaten Juventus in Italy in 2021.
Simone Inzaghi, the Inter Milan manager, praised the performance of his team on a night when they could have scored more than two.
“We got a great approach in the game,” he said. “Excellent motivation, right mindset, and I praised the whole team. We have taken just one step, and we will wait (for) the next game on Monday. Winning the Super Cup is getting hard as we play two games within three to four days. I did many finals thanks to those guys. Tomorrow, whoever deserves it more will play against us.”
Gian Piero Gasperini, the Atalanta manager, said: “Inter is strong, the strongest at the moment. We were close, and at the league, we will be even closer. I’m satisfied because it has been a chance to try different players. We created many chances in the second half.”
