Late Abraham winner gives Milan Italian Super Cup win over Inter

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Tammy Abraham grabbed a late winner as AC Milan came from two goals down to beat defending champions Inter Milan 3-2 and lift the Italian Super Cup trophy in Riyadh on Monday.

Inter looked on course for a fourth consecutive trophy in the tournament after goals from Lautaro Martinez and and Mehdi Taremi either side of the break in Saudi Arabia. But in a repeat of their 2-1 come-from-behind win against Juventus in the semi-final Milan returned transformed after the break.

To add to the Inter´s woes the reigning Serie A champions lost Hakan Calhanoglu to a muscular injury just after half an hour with Kristjan Asllani coming on in place of the Turkish midfielder. Theo Hernandez revived AC Milan hopes with a free kick after 52 minutes as they chased a first trophy under new coach Sergio Conceicao.

US winger Christian Pulisic grabbed the equaliser with 10 minutes to go with English forward Abraham sealing the winner after 93 minutes to give his side the trophy for the eighth time and first since 2016.

Inter had a chance to restore their two-goal cushion when Carlos Augusto’s close-range header struck the post and rebounded into Maignan’s arms. But Milan’s persistence paid off with 10 minutes remaining.

Christian Pulisic, surrounded by three Inter defenders, controlled a cross from Hernández with poise and steered a clinical shot into the far corner to level the game at 2-2. With no extra time to be played, many expected the match to be decided by penalties.

However, Milan continued to press for a winner. In the dying moments, Rafael Leão pulled the ball back across the face of goal, and Tammy Abraham was perfectly positioned to tap it in from close range, completing the comeback and breaking Inter’s hearts.

Conceicao, who took over as Milan manager just last week following the sacking of Paulo Fonseca, celebrated wildly with his players as Inter’s team slumped to the ground in disbelief. “It’s also our fault that Fonseca was fired,” admitted Theo Hernández, who had a contentious relationship with the former coach.