AC Milan on Friday celebrated wildly after beating Juventus to win the Supercoppa Italiana in a penalty shoot-out to win their first trophy since 2011.
Mario Pasilic blasted home the final spot-kick to give AC Milan a 4-3 victory on penalties after a hard-fought match was locked at 1-1 on 90 minutes and after extra time in Doha.
Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala missed their spot-kicks for Juventus, with Gianluca Lapadula the only Milan player not to convert his penalty.
Photo: AFP
It is the second time Milan have beaten Juventus, who lead the Serie A by four points, this season.
In October, they won 1-0 at the San Siro.
A delighted Milan coach Vincenzo Montella said he hoped the victory would serve as a springboard for his side.
“I would like to think that this match is the beginning of a new era, we would like to consider it a starting point,” Montella said. “I am sure that this win will give us confidence.”
The victory was just about merited by Milan, who responded well after early Juventus dominance.
Juve, Italian league and cup double winners last season, had taken the lead in the 18th minute after Giorgio Chiellini flicked home a Miralem Pjanic corner.
At that stage it was all Juventus and it was not until the 36th minute that Milan had their first shot on target, a tame effort from midfielder Juraj Kucka.
However, they drew level just before halftime when Giacomo Bonaventura beautifully glanced home a Fernandez Suso cross.
Suso was a constant irritant to the Juve defense and set up several fine chances, including an 83rd-minute header for Carlos Bacca, who was denied by a great save by evergreen Gianluigi Buffon, making his 600th appearance for Juventus.
Romagnoli also went close, hitting the bar with a header.
Juventus also had their chances, most notably in extra time.
In the 111th minute, Patrice Evra put the ball in the net, only to be ruled offside, then Dybala missed a great chance, spooning a shot over when unmarked from just eight yards with only four minutes remaining.
A “very angry” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said he was upset at the way his team had lost control of the game and become nervous.
“The match started well for us, the first 30 minutes Juventus were at their best,” Allegri said. “We should have been more focused.”
Chiellini echoed his coach.
“The first 20 minutes we played well and we had two further chances of scoring, but after 20 minutes we played badly, we made many mistakes and gave too much space to Milan,” Chiellini said.
The match, the second time the Supercoppa has been played in Qatar, was watched by a near-capacity crowd of 11,356.
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