Alexis Sanchez nets last-second winner to snatch Italian Super Cup for Inter
On the 12-13 January night, Inter faced rival Juventus to decide who deserves to lift the Italian Super Cup. The game took place in Milan at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and ended in a 2-1 win for the hosts, with intrigue lasting until the final seconds.
The Super Cup brought us a great showdown: one of the oldest rivalries and a match where nerves were frayed and the winner was only decided in extra time. Juventus may have sorely missed key Federico Chiesa, who suffered a shocking torn ligament injury in the match before the final, where Juve won Roma 4-3.
Despite this, the game seemed fairly even: Juventus opened the scoring in the 25th minute, the goal was scored by American Weston McKennie. Ten minutes later, Lautaro Martinez managed to equilize. It was followed by a “drought”, in the second half, both teams remained scoreless.
Things were moving towards a penalty shoot-out, but suddenly, in 121th minute, Alexis Sanchez picked up the ball in the penalty area and slotted the priceless winner for Inter which brought his team to the trophy. That goal, by the way, became the latest in Italian Super Cup history (121 minutes), before which Gonzalo Higuaín scored in the 114th minute in 2014.
The former Arsenal and Manchester United attacker, the Man of the Match, commented on the winning goal:
“I always said I felt like a caged lion, I wasn’t playing! Conte arrived one day and said ‘nobody else is like you’, he would put me on for the final 15 minutes and said I’d make the difference. I said put me on earlier, I can make the difference then too! This is the roar of the lion!” he told about past times and his playing time.
“Champions are like this, the more they play, the better they feel. They can do something nobody else can. I played against Lazio, I thought I would play today as I was in good shape, but the coach made that decision. I was hungry and felt like winning something tonight! Now, we are on the right track with the right players and we have to continue like this.”
“As for Sanchez saying he wanted to play more, it’s also true that everyone wanted to play. Roberto Gagliardini was one of the best on the pitch against Lazio and he didn’t come on today. I have to make decisions in every game. I have some wonderful forwards and I have to make choices in every match. Arturo Vidal and Federico Dimarco did very well when they came on and made a difference.”
this is how the head coach explained the situation.
Simone Inzaghi, who has started coaching the Milanese since the start of this season, left his all on that pitch, and he commented that the victory was fully deserved:
“We were up against a very good side that played as Juve play. They didn’t make it particularly difficult for us. I’ve seen the stats and I think we deserved the win, but we were up against a top side. They were always in the contest. They let us pass the ball around, but it’s still never easy to beat them. I’ve got a good record against Juve in the Super Cup and we’ve now won our first trophy of the season in front of our fans so I’m thrilled. We have to keep it up. We wanted this trophy because Inter hadn’t won the Super Cup since 2010 and that’s too long.”
Inter are now in first place in Serie A (albeit with a game in hand and just one point behind second place) and are seen as the main contender for the Scudetto. Now Inzaghi’s team have eight wins in a row, and the last (and only) defeat was in October last year – Inter swept away everyone on their way to the championship.
It seems this win will provide the necessary fuel for the second part of the season.
- It must be recalled that Inter approached this match as the reigning Serie A champions. While Juve won Italian Cup last season.
- Juventus have the record number of Super Cup victories in Italy. They have won the trophy nine times and Inter have lifted it for the sixth time in their history.