African Footballer of the Year and Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman who came in as a second half substitute could not save Atalanta from crashing out Thursday night from the semi finals of the Italian Super Cup decided at the King Saud University Stadium in Saudi Arabia.
It took a second-half brace from 28 year old Denzel Dumfries to give Inter Milan a 2-0 win over Atalanta. As a result, the Nerazzuri will get the chance to become the first side to win the trophy four times in a row in Monday’s final.
Although used to the roaring terraces of the San Siro, Inter’s players were clearly unaffected by the lack of atmosphere at the home of Al Nassr, and went on the attack from the first whistle. In fact, a triple chance was spurned by Lautaro Martinez during the first minute, setting the stage for the Argentine to pepper the Atalanta goal with a myriad of attempts throughout the first half.
Marco Carnesecchi was in sensational form though, showing fantastic reflexes to deny Martinez’s close-range effort after Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s free-kick, before thwarting him again as part of a double save.
Although clearly not holding much support among those in attendance in Saudi Arabia, Atalanta are a force in their own right, and sit top of Serie A after a recent 11-match league winning streak.
