Inter are imprecise, wasteful but deservedly victorious and take home a fundamental advantage.
We will tell the truththese scattered considerations were designed to focus solely and exclusively on Marko Arnautovic’s mistake, but fortunately the Austrian himself took care of it and allowed us to look (also) at other things. Inter had to win and they won, above all to avoid the Maginot Line that Simeone was already anticipating for the return. But at the end of the day the match this evening represents more of a wasted opportunity than anything else. The Nerazzurri had the chance to largely close the score with Atletico but they were guilty of throwing it away due to the inaccuracies in front of goal by their attackers, “limiting yourself” to such a narrow victory. However, it was necessary to break the ice with the direct elimination phase, and it was definitely a victory the best way to do it.
Inter were dominant this evening from a mental and gaming point of view and rarely have we seen teams capable of putting Simeone down so clearly for 90 minutes. Surprisingly, Inzaghi’s team manages, especially in the second half, to build and get to the shot with a certain ease. If there was no lack of tactical preparation, it was certainly the big absentee of the evening accuracy, both in finishing and finalization. Calhanoglu and Mkhitaryan played an overall positive game but they weigh heavily on their performance the many errors on the trocar and the turnovers in the passes in the narrow, but above all of this, Atletico’s great ability to create density on the ball carriers and close the spaces for Inter’s dribble was decisive.
Support Sportellate: associates Our work is based on the commitment and passion of a young editorial staff. Through the association you help us grow and always improve the quality of the content. Join now!
T’s mistakes in front of goal were more serious and difficult to forgivehurram, Lautaro e Arnautovic: With at least one great opportunity each, the lack of malice and coldness of the attackers seriously risked calling into question the clear and deserved victory of an Inter team that was almost never in difficulty. The fact that it was the Austrian who broke the deadlock, now in a Catullian love-hate relationship with the fans it is almost symbolic but certainly salvific for him and for the whole team. For the rest, the attitude of the whole team from the waist down is to be praised, in particular that of Barella and Bastoni, unquestionably MVPs of the eveningbut also of De Vrij, Pavard and their successors.
A contradictory match therefore for Inzaghi’s team. He dominated the match without closing it, he played well but certainly didn’t shine. Without much doubt, this evening Inter felt that thing that has long since disappeared in the league, or the pressure. The typical necessity of the direct elimination phases, combined with a new but beautiful problem for the Nerazzurri, namely that of confirming no longer since underdogs but as favourites, certainly influenced the progress of the Inter game and consequently the match. But the victory still came and the hope is that the Nerazzurri took advantage of the clear superiority shown this evening and broke the ice with a context with its own logic and rules.
This new old Athletic, no longer that of our fathers but that of Cholo-taka, it showed itself only in part and in general he didn’t make a great impression. Clearly crushed by Inter, Atletico showed flashes of more proactive and constructive play but almost always limited themselves to trying to hurt with transitions and intense pressing in midfield. The fact that Arnautovic’s goal and at least two other very tasty chances for the home team arose from errors in setting up the Colchoneros is indicative of how much Simeone’s tactical restructuring is still in progress, but absolutely not to be underestimated. For the rest, the wolf loses its fur but not its vice. The deliberate strategy of bringing home the equalizer and hurting or making most of the opponents nervous it’s more reminiscent of Gabi and Godin’s team that Atletico 3.0 is trying to propose.