ATLETICO Madrid came from behind on aggregate and qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 3-2 penalty shootout win over last season’s finalists Inter Milan at the Estadio Metropolitano, Thursday (14/3). Los Rojiblancos remain mighty unbeaten in their last 17 Champions League knockout round matches at home.

Atletico trailed by one goal following the first leg. Their hopes seemed to be buried when Federico Dimarco scored Inter’s opener in the 33rd minute. However, Antoine Griezmann immediately equalized for the hosts three minutes later.

Memphis Depay, who came on as a substitute, scored a goal in the 87th minute which took the draw to extra time with an aggregate score of 2-2.

“Our people, our supporters, are very decisive in our stadium. The whole world can see it, and that made our players thrive today once morest an extraordinary opponent,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone.

“Koke gave everything there, and Griezmann ran until he mightn’t run any more. Memphis came in and showed up when we really needed him. This is what we needed. Being in the top eight may sound easy, but it’s not,” he added.

In the penalty shootout, three Inter executors failed, including star striker Lautaro Martinez. Martinez’s failure, whose execution soared, meant that Inter had to give up their ticket to the last eight to Atletico.

Also read: Diego Simeone believes Atletico Madrid can beat Inter Milan in the second leg

Atletico goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, became a hero saving two kicks from Alexis Sanchez and Davy Klaassen.

“I think penalties are a lottery. Today fortunately I stopped two goals. It’s not easy to stop penalties. Sometimes it looks easy from the outside, but it’s not,” said Oblak.

“I’m very, very happy for the team because I think we played a great match. We played well. Maybe in the last month we weren’t in good shape but we showed we can do more,” he added.

Also read: Champions League Top 16 Preview: Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid

Inter’s neat record of always winning 13 consecutive matches since the beginning of 2024 has also been broken. Atletico have only won one of their last five matches.

However, the match was balanced and interesting. Atletico worked hard to get the win and both teams created lots of chances.

Home advantage turns out to be very important for Atletico, who have a winning record in 19 of their 21 matches at the Metropolitano in all competitions. They were able to recover from an impossible position once morest the Italian Serie A leaders.

Also read: Ahead of Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid: Simone Inzaghi is wary of the depth of the opposing squad

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi was disappointed with the result. The reason is, they grabbed the momentum by scoring first but just let it go.

Inter’s defeat also ensured that Italy had no representatives in the last eight. The Nerazzurri are now turning their attention back to focusing on Serie A. This is because Inter are getting closer to their 20th Scudetto.

“When we were ahead, we needed to be better, those three or four minutes to maintain the lead that Dimarco gave us. At that moment the game seemed to be in our hands, but instead they came back into the game,” said Inzaghi.

“Obviously we are disappointed with the whole Inter family. (But) we have to be proud of what we did in this Champions League. In the second half, we might have performed better. In extra time, we had more energy, but unfortunately we also made a lot of mistakes,” said Imzaghi. (AFP/UEFA/Z-6)

THE RECTOR of the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) Yogyakarta, Fathul Wahid, urged political parties that lose in the 2024 Presidential Election or Presidential Election to become a balancing opposition that adheres to national and state ethics and upholds the Constitution and human rights. The political party was also urged to realize the right to inquiry by seeking other steps to combat various violations.

“The political party that loses the presidential election must become the opposition, using the right of inquiry and seeking other political and legal steps as punishment once morest President Jokowi who is proven to have betrayed the 1998 reforms and has carried out open practices of corruption in power,” said Fathul in a statement entitled ‘Save Democracy Indonesia’ in the Prof. Auditorium Courtyard. KH Abdul Kahar Muzakkir UII Integrated Campus Jalan Kaliurang on Thursday, March 14 2024.

Fathul explained that the betrayal of the 1998 reforms and the corruption of power was seen from a series of things that had happened. Starting from the creation of social segregation from 2014 until now with the label kadrun versus kampret, it has proven to be a powerful tool to paralyze democratic structures, castrate the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), and government critics are brought to court and even thrown behind bars.

“Civil society actors are paid to be true loyalists. Since the beginning of President Joko Widodo’s administration, signs of the death of democracy have been felt. However, because these signs are so subtle, not many people feel them,” he said.

Fathul also mentioned a series of other government actions that were harsh on democracy, such as amendments to the Corruption Eradication Commission Law, the Law on Mineral and Coal Mining, and the Constitutional Court Law, as well as the ratification of the Job Creation Law which seemed to be carried out constitutionally. In fact, what actually happened was manipulation of constitutional channels and mechanisms. One of the origins of these various violations was the advancement of President Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming, as a vice presidential candidate to accompany Prabowo Subianto.

Fathul demanded that all state administrators uphold national and state ethics, respect the rights and freedoms of citizens, and restore the principle of judicial independence. He reminded state officials that they have a constitutional duty to educate the nation’s life in order to achieve a prosperous, civilized, just and prosperous society.

Also read: Ganjar Volunteers Invite the Community to Monitor the Election Process

“We also encourage political parties to maintain their independence so that they are empowered to uphold the sovereignty of the people and are able to carry out their role in building political ethics and culture in social, national and state life,” he said.

His party invites the public to boycott political parties which have become servants of power and money and have openly betrayed their main duties as implementers of people’s sovereignty. On the other hand, he asked state institutions according to their duties, such as the General Election Commission (KPU), the General Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), the Honorary Council for Election Organizers (DKPP), and the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia (ORI) to investigate all election fraud, including carried out by President Jokowi, before, during and following the voting. Elections, he said, must be a means of producing a legitimate government.

“We do not forget to call on civil society activists to carry out civil disobedience and refuse to be part of power that is seized by various ethically immoral machinations. In particular, we call on critical national figures to unite and create a permanent opposition once morest a dynastic political regime that has become a predator and the killer of democracy in Indonesia,” he said. (Z-7)