Sergio Conceicao took just one week to secure his first trophy as AC Milan’s coach – achieved through back-to-back comeback victories.
On Monday, Milan rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat city rival Inter Milan 3-2, clinching the Italian Super Cup in dramatic fashion.
Super-sub Rafael Leao played a pivotal role, contributing to all three goals scored by Theo Hernandez, Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham.
Conceicao, who replaced the dismissed Paulo Fonseca last Monday, also guided the Rossoneri to a thrilling comeback win over Juventus in the semifinals.
The burning question: What sparked Milan’s instant transformation under Conceicao?
“We played with confidence, courage and hunger,” Abraham said. “We’re a strong team.”
Pulisic added, “He told us we need to have more hunger, and that’s more important than tactics.”
After the semifinals, Conceicao downplayed his warmth with players.
“I’m not so nice, and I’m not someone who hugs,” he said. “I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to win.”
But after the final, Conceicao was seen celebrating in the locker room, dancing with his players and smoking a cigar.
The victory marked Milan’s first trophy since winning Serie A in 2022 and their eighth Super Cup title – but their first since 2016.
Lautaro Martínez and Mehdi Taremi had put Inter ahead with goals on either side of halftime.
Leao then drew a foul that led to Hernandez curling a free kick around Inter’s wall.
Next, Pulisic finished off a counterattack, threading his shot through goalkeeper Augusto’s legs on a play initiated by Leao.
For the winner, Leao provided a through ball to Pulisic, who crossed to Abraham for a tap-in during stoppage time. Without extra time under competition rules, the match was moments away from a penalty shootout.
“It’s also our fault that Fonseca was fired,” Hernandez admitted, noting past clashes with the former coach. “We didn’t have much time to work with Conceicao, but it’s gone well in that short span.”
This marked the fifth time in the last seven years that the Super Cup was held in Saudi Arabia and the second year under the expanded four-team format.
Inter’s opener came from a throw-in, with Taremi feeding Lautaro inside the area. Lautaro cut back before firing through Hernandez’s legs on Inter’s lone first-half chance.
Taremi, filling in for the injured Marcus Thuram, doubled the lead by finishing a counterattack immediately after the break.
Milan will play its first Serie A match under Conceicao against Cagliari on Saturday. The Rossoneri sit in eighth place with only seven wins in 17 matches but now return to league action with newfound confidence.
Inter, meanwhile, suffered only their third loss across all competitions this season and their second against Milan, who won the Serie A derby 2-1 in September. Inter’s other defeat came against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
“Inter stopped playing when it was 2-0,” Lautaro said. “You pay for that in games like these. We knew that Milan’s best weapon is their counterattacks.”