Inter out to avoid past mistakes against Milan
Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi pledged his team will try to avoid the mistakes of the last Derby della Madonnina when it faces AC Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana final on Tuesday (AEDT).
Inter will target a fourth straight Supercoppa in Riyadh, where a victory would take it level with Juventus for the competition record of nine titles.
While the Nerazzurri are still in contention for the Scudetto, one of the low points of their campaign came when they last met Milan in September.
Federico Dimarco cancelled out Christian Pulisic's opener in that match, only for Matteo Gabbia to score an 89th-minute winner for the Rossoneri, who have struggled this season.
Coming up against a Milan team playing just its second game under coach Sergio Conceicao, Inzaghi knows Inter must improve on its most recent derby display.
"It reminds us of some wonderful games ... the victory here in the semi-finals of the [UEFA] Champions League [in 2023]," Inzaghi said.
"We also remember the last one, it was a defeat where we deserved to lose.
"We will try to avoid the mistakes of that match, knowing that Milan have changed coach but have quality players."
Inter will be led out by Lautaro Martinez, who has only scored once in his past nine outings but has played an influential role throughout Inzaghi's tenure.
Inzaghi has no concerns about the Argentinean's form, saying: "Lautaro's importance is great, I've said it several times. He is a great captain, he has inherited an important armband and is managing it in the best way.
"I was a striker too, albeit less strong than him, and I know what it means to not always score in the way he has become accustomed to in his career.
"I see him in the best way. When the team wins, we have to continue like this, knowing that he is fundamental."
Asked if his team was overly reliant on its captain, Inzaghi said: "I think that all my teams have always looked for the striker to score goals, they have always scored.
"The team is also looking for [Marcus] Thuram, [Marco] Arnautovic, [Joaquin] Correa and [Mehdi] Taremi: we try to convert as much as possible, knowing that we are scoring a lot with other roles as well."
