GdS: The lottery of penalties – who could decide Inter vs. Milan from the spot | OneFootball

There will be no extra-time in the event of a draw after 90 minutes in tonight’s Supercoppa Italiana final, so AC Milan and Inter must think even more about penalties.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, in addition to studying the most suitable tactic to beat the opponent, Simone Inzaghi and Sergio Conceiçao are also evaluating the players to place on the penalty spot if the game ends in a tie.

It is a mission that is perhaps a little more difficult for the Rossoneri coach, who obviously has in mind who would be up to the task without any problems, but who perhaps also has to evaluate the possible candidates from a psychological point of view.

Inter’s chosen ones

The first penalty taker is Hakan Calhanoglu, obviously. The Turk has scored five times out of seven attempts between Inter and the national team this year. The two misses came against Napoli and Iceland.

Behind him are Lautaro Martinez – 16 goals out of 24 attempts in his career – and Mehdi Taremi, the hidden specialist. He has scored 58 out of 68, and this season he scored one against Red Star at San Siro.

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Other possible takers: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who however hasn’t taken one since 2021; Piotr Zielinski (scored twice against Juventus this year), Marko Arnautovic (20 penalties out of 23) and Federico Dimarco.

Dimarco’s left foot has scored nine times out of 12 from the spot in his career, but his only penalty with the Nerazzurri ended up in Musso’s arms (September 2021). Nicolo Barella can also take a penalty but hasn’t since at Cagliari in the 2017-18 season.

Also watch out for Asllani: 8 out of 8 in his career. Bastoni, De Vrij, Bisseck and Darmian have never taken one. Dumfries, on the other hand, has taken three: all on target. After the two goals in the semi-final he could be a serious candidate.

Milan’s takers

The 2024-25 Rossoneri season will also be remembered for the embarrassing scenes at the Franchi, where players robbed each other of a penalty twice.

First Theo Hernandez, then Tammy Abraham (with the complicity of Tomori) took the ball away from Pulisic, the designated penalty taker, with the added headline: both penalties were missed. Well, let’s say that something like this would not even be imaginable with Conceiçao.

Photo by AC Milan

Having said that, who would go to the spot in Riyadh? Unless the new coach has particular ideas, the name at the top of the list is certainly Christian Pulisic, who was and remains the name at the top of the list, as demonstrated in the semi-final against Juve.

The other names: Alvaro Morata, Tijjani Reijnders and even Theo Hernandez. He is not in the best of formbut it is difficult to imagine Conceiçao crossing him off from the penalty takers, given how he can strike a ball.

A surprise name could be Alex Jimenez. The Spaniard certainly knows how to shoot well and has the nerve to deal with pressure. Substitutes like Tammy Abraham, as well as Ismael Bennacer, could get the nod too.