Atlético Madrid picked up Inter’s lead – advanced on penalties – Dagsavisen

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After it was 2-1 after full time, the match had to be decided in extra time and finally a penalty shootout.

There, goalkeeper Jan Oblak became the hero for Atlético when he saved attempts from Alexis Sánchez and Davy Klaassen. Lautaro Martinez missed the last penalty for Inter.

Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer saved an attempt from Saul, but when the rest of the Atlético players scored, the home team could finally cheer for advancement.

The quarter-finals are drawn on Friday. Manchester City (reigning champion), Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund are teams that can wait in the next phase.

It was an evenly played match in Madrid on Wednesday where both teams created chances. Federico Dimarco sent the visitors into the lead after half an hour, but just a few minutes later Antoine Griezmann equalised.

In the second half, Atlético pressed hard and scored five minutes before the end. Then Memphis Depay sent the home crowd into the sky and extended the match to extra time.

Stingy

Inter took a 1-0 lead into the second leg on Wednesday after Marko Arnautovic scored in the first leg. Last year, the Milan club lost the final to Manchester City.

Inter are very stingy at the back of the pitch and had conceded just three goals in their last eleven games before Wednesday’s clash.

Atlético is usually a regular in the knock-out rounds in the Champions League, but last year was knocked out in the pool play. The Spaniards have never won the tournament, but lost the final three times. They suffered final defeat in both 2014 and 2016, both times against city rivals Real Madrid.

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Two quick goals

The home team pressed from the start and put the Inter defense to several tests. Keeper Sommer had to take action early on to beat away an attempt from Samuel Lino.

After barely a quarter of an hour, Inter’s Denzel Dumfries had a good opportunity, but Oblak held out with a double save and kept the home team in the game. Afterwards, the match waved back and forth before the visitors were to break the deadlock.

Inter played well in attack where Nicolò Barella eventually hit a smart pass into the box. Dimarco was waiting there, who with the wrong foot was able to push the ball into the goal from close range.

But the cheers quickly died down in the away leg, because just three minutes later the ball was in the net behind Sommer. After some back and forth in the field, Griezmann was somewhat lucky when the ball found its way through the Inter defence. The Frenchman made no mistakes alone with the goalkeeper. Before the break, Griezmann was again close to the goal, but the Inter defense blocked the finish.

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Equalization

After the break, Atlético had a lot of the ball, but they struggled to create the biggest chances against a compact and solid Inter defence.

Among other things, Matteo Darmian contributed with a strong action when he stood in the way of Depay’s shot from close range ten minutes before the end. Five minutes later, Depay had another chance, but the ball hit the post behind Sommer.

But in the third it was to succeed for Depay. The home team played well into the core of the Inter defence, where Depay turned up and hammered the ball into the net.

Afterwards, it was Atlético who were the most dangerous in the battle for victory. And with just seconds left, Rodrigo Riquelme had a great chance, but the shot went over the target. The missed shot caused Atlético coach Diego Simeone to lie flat on the sidelines.

The extra rounds proceeded without particularly great chances.

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