AC Milan defeat Inter to win the Italian Super Cup

The match opened with action from the beginning as seconds after Sneijder's ambitious effort flew wide, Milan counter-attacked and almost took the lead. Ibrahimovic’s exquisite touch was met by Robinho but the Brazilian forward wasted a glorious chance by curling it past Julio Cesar’s post.

Massimiliano Allegri's side would go on to regret that missed opportunity as Inter began to dominate proceedings. Their pressure culminated in Sneijder curling home a free-kick into Christian Abbiati’s top left corner to give the Coppa Italia winners a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute.

Inter looked to make the most of their control of the game as Samuel Eto’o and Ricky Alvarez had efforts, but neither troubled Abbiati significantly. Ibrahimovic gave the opposition a reminder of his quality as he saw his header rebound off the post just before half-time as Inter held a deserved 1-0 after 45 minutes.

Milan started the second half in a more determined manner as they were the better team. Robinho’s skill helped tee up Clarence Seedorf but the Dutchman could only put the ball wide. However, they did not have to wait long after that miss to get back onto level terms. Robinho lofted a super ball over the Inter defence and Seedorf square a pass for Ibrahimovic to equalise in the 60th minute. 

The comeback was complete just nine minutes later as Boateng pounced on a parry from Julio Cesar. Alexandre Pato, just on as a sub, saw his shot cannon off the post via Cesar’s hand but the Ghana international was on hand to follow up and make the score 2-1.

Inter looked to have snatched an equaliser through Eto'o late on as they relentlessly searched for a lifeline. However the ex-Barcelona striker was judged to have been offside as he put the ball in the net.

Allegri's charges held on for the first Milan derby win of the season over their rivals. The champions open their Scudetto defence away to Cagliari on August 27. Meanwhile Gasperini's men will begin their quest to reclaim the Serie A title at home to Lecce on August 28.