On January 3rd, in the Italian Super Cup semi-final held in Saudi Arabia, Inter Milan faced off against Atalanta. Inter Milan continued their good form against Atalanta, scoring two goals in the second half. Denzel Dumfries scored with an overhead kick and then blasted a world-class shot to help Inter Milan advance to the final. Their opponents in the final will be either Juventus or Milan, and winning again would secure a fourth consecutive Italian Super Cup title for Inter Milan.
Inter Milan fielded their full-strength lineup, while Atalanta rotated their squad, with key players such as Lookman, Ederson Silva, and De Ketelaere waiting on the bench. Denzel Dumfries was the key player for Inter Milan in this match. In the 49th minute, he headed the ball during a corner kick, followed by a spectacular overhead kick that broke through Atalanta's goal. In the 61st minute, Dumfries scored another difficult goal with a direct long-range shot during a counterattack.
Inter Milan has won seven consecutive matches against Atalanta and remains undefeated in their last 14 encounters. Although Atalanta often performs strongly against other teams, Inter Milan seems to have found a way to control them. This might be the reason why Atalanta chose to rest their main players in this match, with Gasperini strategically giving up on the Italian Super Cup. In this match, the performance of Inter Milan's captain Lautaro Martinez was once again questioned. After finally breaking his goal drought in the previous game, he failed to score again in this match.
Lautaro played the entire game, attempting eight shots, while Inter Milan had a total of 21 shots. Despite his strong desire to shoot, Lautaro missed several opportunities to score, including two excellent chances, and lost possession of the ball 12 times out of 45 touches. Since renewing his contract, Lautaro's performance has been poor. In the last 10 games he played for Inter Milan, the €100 million Serie A top scorer only managed to score one goal without any assists. Although he scored in the previous game, he also missed a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Lautaro's post-tax annual salary after renewing his contract reached €9 million, but his performance has been disappointing, causing many Inter Milan fans to become frustrated.
Dumfries' situation is the opposite of Lautaro's. After renewing his contract, he has performed outstandingly, scoring one goal and providing one assist against Lazio last month, and scoring twice in this match against Atalanta. In the last five games with Inter Milan, he has scored three goals and provided one assist. Dumfries earns an annual salary of €4 million and plays as a wing-back, but recently he has contributed more offensively than the forward Lautaro. Renewing Dumfries' contract was the right decision for Inter Milan, while renewing Lautaro's contract is debatable. With Inter Milan's strong ability to create scoring opportunities, replacing the main striker could lead to more goals.