Inter Milan vs Al-Ittihad

Reigning Serie A title holders Inter Milan take on Saudi Arabian powerhouse Al-Ittihad in a summer friendly at Monza’s Stadio Brianteo.

Fresh off lifting a landmark 20th Scudetto in the 2023/24 Serie A season, Inter Milan got their pre-season preparations off to a flyer, stringing together three straight wins against Lugano, Pergolettese, and Las Palmas before being held to a 1-1 draw by second-tier Pisa last time out. Simone Inzaghi’s men welcomed headline performer Lautaro Martinez back from a triumphant Copa America campaign at the start of the week, hoping he’ll hit the ground running from the get-go after losing marquee summer signings Piotr Zielinski and Mehdi Taremi to injuries. The latter scored five of Inter’s eight goals across their opening three summer friendlies. It’ll be up to Marcus Thuram and Martinez to fill Taremi’s shoes and maintain Inter’s rich tradition of firing in multiple goals in ten of their last 13 outings.

On the other hand, Al-Ittihad’s embarrassing Saudi Pro League title defense in 2023/24, which resulted in a dismal fifth-place finish, saw the club part with manager Marcelo Gallardo at the start of the summer. Veteran Frenchman Laurent Blanc has come to fill the void, accompanied by the arrivals of Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic and Algerian playmaker Houssem Aouar. Despite having superstar forward Karim Benzema at the heart of their attack, the ‘Chief of Clubs’ have averaged only 0.5 goals per game across their four summer losses thus far. It’s more concerning to note they conceded 2+ goals in three of those four matches, most recently being humbled by Real Betis 4-1.