RIYADH: An extra-time goal from Tammy Abraham completed AC Milan’s comeback to win the Italian Super Cup after beating Inter Milan 3-2 in Riyadh.
Inter, who led by two goals early in the game, were denied the Super Cup for the fourth time in a row, allowing Milan to equal Inter’s eight titles in the competition.
The victory at the King Saud University Stadium saw new Milan manager Serge Conceicao lift the trophy in just his second match with the Serie A club.
Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring for Inter in the first half, followed by Mehdi Taremi’s goal two minutes after the break.
Conceicao brought on Rafael Leao who won a free kick and was converted by Theo Hernandez. Christian Pulisic equalised with 10 minutes remaining.
The match looked set to be decided on penalties but Abraham surprised Inter with the winning goal in extra time.
LONDON: Mikel Arteta revealed Arsenal’s preparations ahead of their 3-1 win at Brentford were affected by a virus that hit his squad.
Several Arsenal star players fell ill ahead of a crucial Premier League clash early this morning.
Germany striker Kai Havertz was sent home with a virus, while England midfielder Declan Rice was only able to come off the bench in the second half.
Martin Odegaard was reported to be struggling with the virus ahead of kick-off and although he was fit to start the match, the Arsenal captain made a mistake that led to Bryan Mbeumo’s opening goal and was substituted in the second half.
But the Gunners made a stunning comeback at the GTech Community Stadium as they defied the pandemic to return to the title race.
Goals from Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli ensured Arsenal did not slip up.
“It affects the players on and off the pitch,” Arteta said after his team moved up to second place and closed the gap to six points behind leaders Liverpool, who have played a game less.
“It’s not too serious. But it’s not an ideal situation. In terms of symptoms, with Kai it’s very clear. He doesn’t feel well at all. He has very clear symptoms so stay away from him, put him in the car and go back to London.
“These things happen. During this period, there are always things that haunt you, infections, viruses, so I try to postpone the starting lineup as late as possible because you wake up in the morning and unfortunately receive surprises like this.”
Arteta hopes the virus will have subsided for his side’s visit to Brighton on Saturday.
LIVERPOOL: Fans accused Liverpool of copying Arsenal’s tactics when taking corner kicks in the win over Leicester City.
The Reds widened the gap at the top of the Premier League after coming back to beat The Foxes 3-1 at Anfield.
Observers who watched the match claimed that Arne Slot’s team’s corner kick routine resembled Arsenal’s tactics coached by Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners are considered set piece experts when they scored 22 goals from corner kicks since the start of last season.
The north London club often places players in the back row of defense and starts taking their place in front of the goal when the kick is taken.
The situation was the same as what Liverpool did when they played against Leicester, but it didn’t produce results.
One Arsenal fan wrote on page X: “Liverpool fans criticize Arsenal’s corners every day, but end up trying to imitate them and making it impossible to score.”
Meanwhile Slot urged Liverpool to use Manchester City’s decline in performance as a warning that their comfortable position at the top of the league will be lost if they are not careful.
“If you’ve been in this game for a long time, you know that when a rival has 20 games remaining, you don’t look at the league standings.
“Just a month ago we were one eye behind City and look what’s happening now.
“It can happen to any team. It’s still too early to celebrate. You were with me in all the previous games and it wasn’t an easy win.
“He showed how difficult it is to win even if you have all the players. We just need to focus on one game at a time,” said Slot.
LONDON: Arne Slot urged “extraordinary” Liverpool not to let up on their challenge after the Premier League (EPL) leaders hammered Tottenham 6-3 to move four points clear at the top of the league.
Slot considered Liverpool’s big win in north London earlier this morning as their best performance on the opposing field since he arrived from Feyenoord to replace Jurgen Klopp at the end of last season.
Mohamed Salah was the instigator of the big win with two goals and two assists, while Luis Diaz also scored two goals in addition to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
The Slots have won 21 of their 25 matches in all competitions this season, an impressive run that sees them well placed to win the league championship for the first time since 2020, as well as competing in the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.
However, despite their impressive performance, Slot was disappointed when Liverpool scored two goals through goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke, so asked his troops to remain focused until the last minute of each match.
“He was very good. Maybe he was our best performance away from home, although I also liked what I saw at Manchester United,” said Slot, referring to the 3-0 win at Old Trafford last September.
“Until the 60th minute to the 65th minute, I was really excited by what I saw. Of course we were very trapped when we made a move from the bottom and it led to a goal for Tottenham.
“I think if we go back to the dugout with a 2-1 lead, it wouldn’t do justice to the chances we had. That’s why I’m a bit happy with the fact we blew out a 3-1 lead.
“Then 4-1, 5-1, extraordinary performances, but then you also see, no matter how high quality you have, if they think they don’t need to run any further in this league and especially against Tottenham, because they are too good with the ball, they started creating chances.”
Liverpool’s position at the top of the league at Christmas was guaranteed before kick-off when second-placed Chelsea were tied pointless by Everton.
DOHA, Qatar: Real Madrid’s success in winning the Intercontinental Cup made Carlo Ancelotti the club’s most successful manager with 15 titles won.
After beating Mexican club Pachuca 3-0 in the final at Lusail Stadium, Ancelotti overcame Miguel Munoz, whose record of 14 titles was equaled by the Italian manager when he won the European Super Cup following his victory over Atalanta in August.
“Too many (titles)! I’m heartened, very happy… it’s a story of success. Today I really liked the attitude of the players.
“In the front line, they made an impact, Vinicius Jr played brilliantly. Our attack was very good.
“We have quality. Kylian also played well, Rodrygo scored the second goal. We are very happy to win the title away from home and in the middle of a busy season,” said Ancelotti.
The 65 year old Italian is one of the most successful managers in the world of football.
When he was offered to return to Madrid three years ago to replace Zinedine Zidane, he realized that his main mission was to add to the giant Spanish club’s championship collection.
Ancelotti became the first manager to win titles in Europe’s top five leagues – England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France – and guided Real to the La Liga and European Champions League double twice in three seasons.
Ancelotti’s trophy collection with Real Madrid is three European Champions League titles, two Club World Cups, three European Super Cups, two La Ligas, two Spanish Cups, two Spanish Super Cups and one Intercontinental Cup.