By Canadian Press

Inter Milan sets up Italian Super Cup final with Napoli in Saudi Arabia

Jan 19, 2024 | 1:29 PM

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.

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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.

Canadian international Tajon Buchanan was on the Inter bench but did not see action.

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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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer

The Associated Press