Inter Milan Leaves Atlético de Madrid Hanging by a Thread

Atlético de Madrid faced a disheartening 1-0 defeat at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium against Inter Milan

In the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, held this Tuesday, Atlético de Madrid encountered a disappointing defeat against Inter Milan. The solitary goal of the match was netted by Marko Arnautovic towards the end of the game. This unfortunate event, which materialized due to a misunderstanding between Reinildo Mandava and Rodrigo De Paul, has cast a shadow over the upcoming return match at the Cívitas Metropolitano.

The initial ten minutes of the game held at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium saw both teams maintaining a safe distance from each other. Atlético de Madrid, also known as the mattress team, were the first to pose a threat with an attack led by Samu Lino on the left wing. However, his right-handed shot did not hit the desired target.

Despite this move, Inter Milan had a clear upper hand in the game. In the 36th minute, they put Jan Oblak’s concentration to the test. Nicolò Barella made a cross into the heart of the area. Lautaro Martínez, with a greater leap than Josema Giménez, headed a strong shot into the hands of the opposition’s goalkeeper.

Just two minutes later, De Paul fluffed an apparently easy ball delivery. Marcus Thuram then outran Axel Witsel in a counterattack. The Inter striker moved the ball to the right side and Lautaro shot. However, the ball was turned into a corner by Giménez in a providential manner.

Just before the break, Thuram took a right-footed shot from the top of the area. Oblak, well-positioned, saved the ball. During this action, Inter’s ‘9’ was injured and was replaced by Arnautovic at half-time. The Austrian striker was the first one to get a chance to open the scoring for the locals.

Federico Dimarco made a cross into the mattress area from a run down the left wing. Arnautovic, on a foreshortened volley, sent the ball into the clouds, while half the crowd was already cheering for a goal. Atlético once again made an attempt, thanks to Lino, after a one-two with De Paul, but it did not hit the mark.

Arnautovic and Lautaro, in the 63rd minute, again created intense pressure for the team led by Diego Pablo Simeone. The Austrian striker, with a one-two with Lautaro, shot with his right foot over the crossbar.

The ‘Nerazzurri’ continued their siege, despite the changes made by ‘Cholo’ Simeone. In the 77th minute, Oblak saved another powerful header from Lautaro. Atlético, dressed in green for this match, faced a common tragedy in the 79th minute due to a misunderstanding between Reinildo and De Paul in a non-threatening situation.

No one touched the loose ball, and the players collided with each other. Lautaro quickly controlled the ball and sprinted. Although Oblak went one-on-one, the rebound fell to Arnautovic on the left side. He shot on goal, and neither Reinildo nor Oblak could reach in time to perform a second miracle with the clearance.

The offensive line of Atlético was non-existent. Álvaro Morata and Ángel Correa were ineffective in the time they had during the second half. Antoine Griezmann’s minor injury and Memphis Depay remaining on the bench for the entire match did not help the situation.

Only Morata, with a header that did not hit the goal, gave the Giuseppe Meazza crowd a moment of worry. The match was skillfully managed by Simone Inzaghi’s students in the final stages and the extra time. Atlético will now have to rely on its fans to seek a comeback.

MATCH STATISTICS:

–FINAL SCORE: INTER MILAN, 1 – ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 0 (0-0, at half-time).

–TEAM LINEUPS:

INTER MILAN: Sommer; Darmian (Dumfries, min.69), Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni, Dimarco (Carlos Augusto, min.69); Mkhitaryan (Frattesi, min.72), Barella, Çalhanoglu; Thuram (Arnautovic, min.46) and Lautaro (Alexis Sánchez, min.88).

ATLÉTICO DE MADRID: Oblak; Molina (Barrios, min.68), Witsel, Giménez (Savic, min.46), Hermoso (Reinildo, min.68), Lino; Saúl (Morata, min.54), Koke, De Paul; Llorente and Griezmann (Correa, min.78).

–GOAL:

1-0, min.79: Arnautovic.

–REFEREE: István Kovács (RUM). He cautioned Frattesi (min.86) and Carlos Augusto (min.90+4) from Inter Milan, and Hermoso (min.53), Savic (min.82), Morata (min.84) and Koke (min.90+3) from Atlético de Madrid.

–VENUE: Giuseppe Meazza, 73,709 spectators.

–NOTEWORTHY EVENTS: A moment of silence was observed before the match in honor of Andreas Brehme, a former player for Inter Milan, who recently passed away.