Inter Milan sets up Italian Super Cup final with Napoli in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Inter Milan is hoping a midseason trophy will catapult the team to the Serie A title.
The Nerazzurri are on track following a 3-0 win over Lazio in the Italian Super Cup semifinals on Friday.
Serie A leader Inter will face Serie A titleholder Napoli in Monday’s final.
Napoli, lying eighth in the league, beat Fiorentina 3-0 on Thursday.
Marcus Thuram put Inter ahead 17 minutes in at Al-Awwal Park Stadium after Federico Dimarco used a backheel flick to set up the France forward. Then Hakan Calhanoglu converted a penalty kick after the break and Davide Frattesi finished off a counterattack three minutes from time.
Inter also hit the crossbar twice in a dominating performance — first by Nicolo Barella early on and then by Lautaro Martinez after Calhanoglu's penalty.
The Italian Super Cup was always contested between the Serie A champion and the Italian Cup winner from the previous season but the format was changed this year to include the runners-up from those competitions — similar to the Spanish competition, which was held in the same stadium in Riyadh last week.
Napoli ran away with the Serie A title last season, finishing above Lazio, while Inter beat Fiorentina in the Italian Cup final.
Inter also beat Lazio 2-0 in the league last month in Rome, and won at Napoli 3-0.
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