Sergio Conceicao paid tribute to his "brave" AC Milan players after they came from behind to beat Juventus 2-1 in his first game in charge.
An unlikely Supercoppa Italiana semi-final win on Friday set up a final meeting with rivals Inter on Monday.
Juve led through Kenan Yildiz's first-half goal and were only pegged back by a Christian Pulisic penalty 19 minutes from time, before Federico Gatti's own goal turned the game on its head.
Despite the fortuitous nature of the decisive goal, Conceicao was delighted with what he saw following a flat first half as he seeks to build on a strong start.
"For our second-half performance, we deserved the final," the coach told SportMediaset. "In the first half, I saw a Milan with many doubts, like a few weeks ago.
"Then we spoke at half-time. We had to understand what we had to do to win, and they were really brave."
Together. Onwards. #JuveMilan #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/CaGCHhJdwI
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 3, 2025
Milan will likely have to show the same spirit again against Inter, who brushed aside Serie A leaders Atalanta 2-0 in the other semi on Thursday.
"The second half was completely different, but we haven't done anything yet," Conceicao said.
"We have one less day of rest and this is an important factor."
