Atletico Madrid fell to its rival with great enthusiasm to try to overcome the one-goal deficit accumulated in Milan as quickly as possible. Diego Simeone's side at the San Siro were unable to muster a goal attempt in over 90 minutes – and at the Wanda Metropolitano, it took just over 90 seconds for Stefan Zavic to threaten with a header. Continuing, Real Madrid continued to attack, putting Samuel Leno and then Antoine Griezmann in danger, while Simeone clapped, jumped and danced in front of the bench, fanatic for his players – both on the pitch and in the stands.
A quarter of an hour later, Inter threatened for the first time. At the end of the counter, Jan Oblak had to save a shot from right winger Denzel Dumfries, and then the Dutchman was the first to reach the counter – and then the Slovenian goalkeeper's feat marked the end of the match.
After twenty minutes, the game became more balanced, but after Koke's pass, Alvaro Morata could still put Atletico ahead: fortunately for Yann Sommer, although he was able to head the ball away perfectly, the Spanish midfielder was unable to place the ball. Well enough.
But while the home team wasted every chance, Inter converted their second real chance into a goal: Nicolo Barella's final ball was scored by the scorer of the first BL goal of his career. Federico Demarco Cut it in the middle of the goal (0-1). But the trip did not last long.
He has recovered from his injury Antoine Griezmann He brought Atletico back into the fight for promotion within two minutes of the start: French world champions Benjamin Pavard and Alessandro Bastoni hit a shot from 7 meters into the right side of the goal. (1-1). It is no coincidence that Simeone emphasized the role of captain, according to which his entire team looks different in attack with Griezmann than without him. In some way, all his players in his team have more self-confidence.
At the beginning of the half, Pavard corrected some of the mistake he made in the goal, as he blocked another promising shot by Griezmann from in front of the goal line.
The second half was actually quieter, in the 52nd minute Sommer had to show another feat with a Griezmann effort, but apart from that, there were no dangerous situations in front of either goal for a good 30 minutes.
In the 76th minute, Marcus Thuram, who escaped offside, almost restored Milan's lead with two goals, but he shot over the goal from 14 meters.
Once again, Atleti pressed the ball, creating new counter-chances for Inter. It was as if there was no midfield, in seconds both teams were playing the ball in their opponent's half, if they had it in their possession. Memphis Depay He hit the post in the 85th minute, and it looked like Inter might take the rest of the time. But two minutes later, the Dutch striker made no further mistakes, slotting it into the bottom right corner from 12 meters out – thus saving the game for extra time. (2-1).
The Spaniards continued to dominate the field until extra time, but Depay and Angel Correa did not score any goals either. Inter were noticeably out of sorts and went to penalties. This was also the case for last year's final.
In the shootout, Jan Oblak respectively saved shots from Sanchez and Davy Klaassen, while Sommer could only save Saul Niguez's penalty kick. In the fifth pair, Lautaro Martinez can put the ball on the goal post, so that if he misses it, his team will be eliminated. The Argentine scorer was unable to bear the pressure, so he shot meters above the upper left corner.
Success at home in Dortmund is more difficult than expected
As the potential hero of the match between Dortmund and Eindhoven Jadon Sancho The German press announced, and three minutes later it seemed that the local experts would be right. Winger Julian Brandt, who was on loan from Manchester United in the winter, gave Borussia the lead early in the match with an assist. (1-0).
PSV tried to respond quickly, but were unable to control Edin Terzic's team, while the Germans could respond at will, and could have actually settled the encounter by the end of the first fifteen minutes. First, Niklas Volkrug went down after another brilliant start for Brandt, then Donell Malen went to ground in questionable circumstances inside the box after colliding with Joey Firman. But no penalty was imposed on the latter.
Dortmund were unable to score the strike that promised to be the final, and PSV Eindhoven gradually regained their rhythm, keeping the game level on the field at the start of the half and in the number of chances created at the start of the second half.
The feeling after the break was that BVB, if they could, would have played every 45 minutes, crossing the halfway line with the ball from one or two counter-attacks at most. At the end of such a counterattack, in the 65th minute, Volkrug could have decided the fate of the Dutch opponent, but his ball headed down the left to reach the goalkeeper.
In the 74th minute, Dortmund's problems increased, as Sancho requested treatment after a suspected sprain, then limped off the field. For a few moments, it seemed that the solution to Borussia Dortmund's woes would come from the problem: after a free-kick taken by Marco Reus, who had replaced the England winger, Volkrug put the ball into the net from seven meters to the right – but based on video, it was offside, so no score was scored. the goal.
In the final, PSV Eindhoven attacked fully, Gregor Kopil showed several feats, but the winner of the match went to Borussia: taking advantage of a mistake by Isak Babadi. Rios He was out with the ball in a flash, then shot from 14 meters into the far goal (2-0).
This placed BVB and Atletico Madrid in the top eight.
Champions League, round of 16, return leg:
- Atletico Madrid (Spain) – Internazionale (Italy) 2-1 (Griezmann 35, Depay 87, Demarco 33) – With penalty kicks: 3-2
Passed on:the Atletico Madrid, After 2-2 on penalties
- Borussia Dortmund (Germany) – PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) 2-0 (Sancho III, Reus 90+5)
he moved: the Borussia Dortmund, 3-1 in total.
Top eight areas
Atletico Madrid (Spain), Arsenal (England), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Manchester City (England), Paris Saint-Germain (France), Real Madrid (Spain).
The draw for the quarter-finals will take place on Friday at 12:00 noon CET. The first legs are scheduled to be held on April 9 and 10, and the return matches on April 16 and 17, 2024.
The semi-final draw is also scheduled to take place on Friday. The first matches will be held on April 30 and May 1, and the second matches will be held on May 7 and 8, 2024.
The final match is scheduled to be held on June 1 at Wembley Stadium in London.
(Cover photo: Dennis Doyle/Getty Images)
