An epic, great and historic Atlético eliminates Inter | Football | Sports

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Epic and historic and even with its eternal identity suffering that led to penalties, Atlético eliminated Inter after a memorable match. Oblak became the final hero with two epic saves in the diabolical shootout, but Simeone’s team displayed majestically to carry out a match with all the ingredients of a European Cup tie in which they even found themselves behind. He reacted to that blow that was Dimarco’s goal and then rose above a rival that presented itself as one of the best teams in Europe and the title of being the current runner-up of the tournament. It will be Atlético that enters the exclusive club of the eight teams that fight for the great European title.

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Oblak, Savic, Mario Hermoso, Witsel, Koke, De Paul (Correa, min. 71), Marcos Llorente (Azpilicueta, min. 98), Nahuel Molina (Pablo Barrios Rivas, min. 78), Samuel Lino (Rodrigo Riquelme, min. . 71), Griezmann (Saúl, min. 105) and Morata (Depay, min. 78)

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Summer, Benjamin Pavard, Alessandro Bastoni (Acerbi, 72 mins), de Vrij, Denzel Dumfries (Darmian, 72 mins), Mkhitaryan (Klaassen, 111 mins), Calhanoglu, Dimarco (Yann Bisseck, 83 mins), Barella (David Frattesi, 83 mins), Marcus Thuram (Alexis, 102 mins) and Lautaro Martinez

Goals 0-1 min. 32: Dimarco. 1-1 min. 35: Griezmann. 2-1 min. 86: Depay.

Referee Szymon Marciniak

Yellow cards Mario Hermoso (min. 40), Koke (min. 89), Calhanoglu (min. 103), Acerbi (min. 106) y Yann Bisseck (min. 117)

The imperial trajectory of Inter, which in 2024 counted its 13 games as victories, and the critical state in which Atlético presented itself posed a dichotomy: whether reality can silence an infernal atmosphere or it can transform it. The second thing happened. Atlético came out ready to play on the wire with lung-busting pressure on their rival, with the Metropolitano in full combustion. An all or nothing bet. To box Inter with visceral and vertical football, without traffic. Steal and attack, steal and cross, loading the area with players to try to counter Inter’s goal as soon as possible. The kind of parties that elevate groups and individual heroes were drawn. Lino assumed that disguise in a ride against anyone who got in front of him until he stood in the corner of the area and tested Sommer with a low and crossed left foot shot. The Swiss was academic, he threw himself diagonally to cover the gap and be able to repel.

Faced with the red and white avalanche, Inter tried to sedate the game by passing the ball through Çalhanoglu and Mkhitaryan. He barely managed it in the first quarter of an hour. Atlético’s rampage was unstoppable until Simeone’s players slowed down a couple of revolutions. At that point, the duel was played with a short fuse. A mistake, a threatening spark. This was verified by Morata, who got stuck leading a counterattack and his loss turned into a Dumfries ride similar to Lino’s. Oblak stopped the Dutchman’s attack. Atlético was not deterred, as it did not give up playing on the precipice against a team that turns one-touch transitions into art. Morata meekly headed a good thread from Hermoso. Lautaro responded with a distant shot.

Witsel had to make an imperial cut so that Thuram would not be left one-on-one with Oblak in one of those few-touch plays with which Inter sows panic. They tend to be forged when Lautaro is late to receive from his back and vent the game. This is how Dimarco’s goal was created. Lautaro’s distraction opened a hole behind Nahuel Molina and Savic. Barella sneaked in, crossing back so that Dimarco beat Oblak without opposition. An oversight and a goal of sharp goldsmithing. A blow after half an hour that measured Atlético’s ability to sustain its good game. Simeone’s players quickly regrouped. A bad clearance by Inter brought him back into the Koke area. Pavard botched his volley attempt and the ball fell dead to the reappeared Griezmann, who made the mistake and crossed the ball. The immediate tie recharged the head and legs of Atlético, who revived the fierce pressure from the beginning. He did not give him any income, but he did to send a message to Inter of authority for the return from the break. Marcos Llorente confirmed it with two raids. In the first, after a hat to Dimarco, he assisted Griezmann with a center back that the Frenchman did not corner. In the second, Morata finished sharply without realizing that if he opened his legs Griezmann was alone to push the ball.

Atlético did not make those two chances and got into the final third in the critical phase of physical condition. Simeone put a remedy with the entry of Correa and Memphis for Lino and an erratic De Paul. The movement was definitive because the Argentine and the Dutch agitated the attack. With the match broken, Thuram and Barella were able to shut down Atlético. Memphis hit the post before receiving a filtered pass from Koke, turning and adjusting a low shot that announced an extension that Riquelme could have avoided if he had better calibrated a free shot that Griezmann gave him. In extra time, Memphis had the third and Lautaro the tie with a header that missed by an inch. Then it was time for Oblak and the red-and-white ecstasy. The goalkeeper, who is accused of not taking penalties, stopped Alexis Sánchez’s shot, made a save on Klaassen’s shot and saw how Lautaro, with his shot into the clouds, made good shots from Memphis, Correa and Riquelme.