The Bundesliga and La Liga are currently in their winter break, while the Premier League has just completed its Christmas Day schedule. On the Serie A side, the Italian Super Cup was held this week. The Super Cup consists of two semi-finals and one final, with the first semi-final taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the early morning of January 3rd, Beijing time, featuring a match between Inter Milan and Atalanta.
This year's Italian Super Cup follows the same rules and procedures as last year, including two single-elimination semi-finals, with the final scheduled for January 6th. This will be the first encounter between the two teams in the history of the Super Cup. In 127 Serie A encounters, Inter Milan leads with 69 wins, 34 draws, and 24 losses. Historically, the Nerazzurri have won the Italian Super Cup four times abroad, including the 2009/10 season, the 2010/11 season in Beijing, and the recent two years in Riyadh.
These two teams can be considered the most outstanding in Serie A this season. As the defending Serie A champions, Inter Milan has only lost two games in domestic and international competitions, with fewer losses than any other team in the top five leagues except Liverpool. On the Serie A leaderboard, Inter Milan is only one point behind Atalanta with one less game played. In the past four games, Inter Milan has achieved four consecutive victories without conceding a single goal. Moreover, in 2024, Inter Milan participated in a total of 37 Serie A matches, with a record of 27 wins, 8 draws, and 2 losses, scoring 92 goals and conceding 29, resulting in a goal difference of +63 and an accumulated 89 points, ranking first in all these statistics among Serie A teams during the same period.
Atalanta is also in hot form, with the True Blues transforming into a European powerhouse under Gasperini's guidance. Last season, they won the Europa League final by defeating Bayer Leverkusen, ending Alonso's dream of a treble. This season, they have directly joined the title race in Serie A. After drawing with Lazio in the last round, they have achieved an impressive record of 11 wins and 1 draw in the past 12 rounds of Serie A matches; and in terms of the 2024 Serie A points ranking, Atalanta's 81 points make them second only to Inter Milan.
This is the second encounter between the two teams this season. In the first leg of the league, Inter Milan won 4-0, and in the past six matchups, Inter Milan has won all, including two instances of a 4-0 scoreline. Atalanta broke a 61-year championship drought last season, and now, with their excellent form, they not only want to end their six-game losing streak against Inter Milan but also hope to win the Italian Super Cup for the first time in their history.