RIYADH: AC Milan came from behind to beat Juventus 2-1 on Friday and set up a showdown with city rivals Inter Milan in the Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh.

Sergio Conceicao took charge of his first game as Milan coach after he was appointed to replace Paulo Fonseca earlier this week.

Kenan Yildiz fired Juventus ahead after 21 minutes after poor defending from Theo Hernandez allowed the Turkish midfielder beat Mike Maignan in the Milan goal.

Milan were transformed after the break in the second semi-final of the four-team tournament in Saudi Arabia, which is staging the Super Cup for the third year in a row.

Christian Pulisic pulled Milan level from the penalty spot after 71 minutes before under pressure Juventus defender Federico Gatti inadvertently turned into his own goal four minutes later.

“After the first 45 minutes, in the locker room I didn’t give kisses, in fact I got a little angry because the team didn’t do the things we had prepared,” Conceicao told Mediaset.

“This is a humble group, sometimes they lack a bit of ruthlessness to get to something more but over time we will get there.”

Milan will try to win the Italian Super Cup for the eighth time and first since 2016 on Monday, against three-time defending champions Inter.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2025