RIYADH: Tammy Abraham thanked the fans at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh for inspiring AC Milan to the EA Sports FC Italian Supercup final with a comeback 2-1 win over Juventus, as he called Saudi Arabia “a beautiful country.”
England striker Abraham made a big impact with his forward play after coming on for the last half hour to help AC Milan overturn a 1-0 deficit and seal a spot versus city rivals Inter in Monday night’s final.
Juventus had taken the lead in the 21st minute when Kenan Yildiz thudded high past AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan at his near post after being played through by Samuel Mbangula.
The match turned on its head, however, in the final 20 minutes. Firstly, Christian Pulisic blasted home from the penalty spot, then AC Milan substitute Yunus Musah’s low cross from the right took a wicked deflection off Federico Gatti and spun into the far corner of the net.
The turnaround was first inspired and then greeted with raptures by the AC Milan fans packed into the 25,000 capacity Riyadh stadium on Friday night — and Abraham was very grateful.
Abraham said: “Thank to you everyone who came to watch the game and supported us today. It was a beautiful atmosphere in a beautiful country, a beautiful support. We’re so happy to be here and we can hear the fans singing the whole game. We’re so thankful for them supporting us.
“It’s my first time in this beautiful country and I’m so happy to be here. I knew how beautiful it was before I arrived but coming here you see more and I feel we’re very privileged to host this tournament in this country and the support, like I said, has been amazing. See you all in the final on Monday!”
Abraham’s contribution from the substitutes’ bench delighted Sergio Conceicao in his debut as AC Milan manager. The Portuguese, who took over from compatriot Paulo Fonseca, now has the opportunity to win a trophy in just his second match in charge.
Conceicao said: “We did many mistakes in the first half, but we changed the game in the second half. We need to be brave and believe in what we do. We changed strategy and that was a good one. I noticed strong teamwork, the players united, and I’m happy about that.”
Conceicao was denied the opportunity of playing against son Francisco, the Juventus winger. Juventus manager Thiago Motta said that during the warm-up the No. 7 sustained “a little muscular issue, and he couldn’t play.”
The Juve wideman was instead replaced by Yildiz who, as well as his goal, tested Maignan with a fizzing drive in the first half from outside of the box that was palmed away by the French keeper.
AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez passed up a gilt-edged chance in the 55th minute when he spooned wide after a ricochet from a corner.
After Pulisic and the own-goal put AC Milan in front, however, the Rossoneri could have extended their lead when Michele Di Gregorio superbly saved the American’s dink following excellent work from Tammy Abraham.
The last kick of the match saw Gatti’s close-range shot deflected wide to leave Juventus defeated and AC Milan delighted.
Juventus manager Motta added: “We did a great first half, we took control and scored. In the second half we were able to close the game, but some mistakes were crucial. We need to work every day in order to improve. I truly believe that we have the abilities to perform better. Right away in a defeat, it is hard to find something positive. We will analyze the whole performance and we will do our best to improve.”
The EA Sports FC Supercup is being staged in Saudi Arabia for the fifth time. AC Milan entered the competition as runners-up of last season’s Serie A, while Juventus were included as Coppa Italia winners. Serie A champions Inter Milan, the current Supercup holders and going for three trophies in a row in Riyadh, won Serie A, while Atalanta, who Inter beat 2-0 on Thursday, lost to Juve in May’s Coppa Italia final.
