Diego Simeone
's
Atlético
de Madrid
won a match that seemed lost and eliminated
Inter Milan, the last runner-up, from the
UEFA Champions League
on penalties
, after winning 2-1 in the 90th minute and tying the series after defeat 1 -0 last week at San Siro.
Federico Dimarco
had put the visitors ahead 33 minutes into the first half, but
Antoine Griezmann
's equalizer quickly arrived and with four minutes remaining
Memphis Depay
made it 2-2 on aggregate.
It was a tie with Argentine representatives here and there.
In addition to Simeone,
Rodrigo De Paul
and
Nahuel Molina
started as starters in the Colchonero and both were replaced by Cholo in the second half, while
Ángel Correa
entered the second half and scored one of the penalties of the definition with a powerful cross shot .
On the Neroazurri side, meanwhile,
Lautaro Martínez played the 120 minutes and had a good game, but he missed the last shot and his team ended up being eliminated.
"I trust my players and my team, we are going to do well,"
he had said .
Simeone in the preview.
He was clear.
And Atlético was at the height of the match.
He faced it without fear.
He never gave up.
Not even when Inter hit them suddenly, because the Italian team was fast-paced, precise, conclusive when they went on the counterattack.
Wasting their first moment of the match, when Atlético successfully pressed, overwhelmed their opponent and created a few chances, especially one for Samuel Lino that Yann Sommer saved with a very good save with his left hand.
But the one that hit first was Inter, a reward for their effectiveness.
He had to row the Spanish team.
Back four games later, Griezmann awakened faith.
He had not participated as much as he usually does, more present in defensive tasks than offensive ones.
But Cholo trusted his hierarchy to keep him on the field and the Frenchman paid with a goal, the tying one.
AND NOW?
THERE IS A MATCH!!
Griezmann responds quickly for the 1-1 against Inter in the Champions League.
📺 The #UCL, by #StarPlusLA pic.twitter.com/fIZuuMJN87
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) March 13, 2024
Griezmann wanted more before the break.
His attack ended in the clearance of the opposing defense.
Simeone, on the sideline, waved his arms toward the stands.
He also wanted more from the fans.
The strength of him.
He found her from the first moment.
Nobody remembered about Cádiz.
Not a look back.
The public surrendered hours before.
Until the end.
He roared as always in big duels, even louder.
The Champions League awakens everyone's desire.
And more of a comeback.
She never gave up.
He went further in the second half.
Griezmann made it 2-1.
His shot in the area, on Llorente's back pass, did not go as it should.
The visiting goalkeeper caught it with much less difficulty than expected before the shot.
It is an opportunity that should be more.
Inter already supported Atlético's offensive.
Higher and higher, with more and more risks, he had no choice, the red and white team was emptied of its insistence.
Physically and mentally.
An action by Riquelme, on the field for Lino for the final 20 minutes, shook up the game again, as did the umpteenth error by Molina for the counter that Thuram wasted.
A half turn from Memphis made the Metropolitano even more boiling, fearful when Barella stood alone against Oblak.
The goalkeeper caught it.
It was a roller coaster.
Memphis crashed a right hand into the post.
The third time, already in the 87th minute, was the charm.
The Dutchman received it inside the area and crossed his shot.
A goal for extra time.
It was no more, because Riquelme missed the last one, over the crossbar, on the verge of the 93rd minute.
He didn't avoid overtime.
Equal eliminatory.
Half an hour more.
Everything is more measured.
In the first half, two Inter headers, both wide.
By Thuram and Lautaro.
A chance for Atlético, with a shot from Memphis, again, which Sommer solved with difficulty.
Griezmann couldn't take it anymore, substituted at the break of extra time.
Simeone's group noticed the effort, which then withstood Inter's dominance to reach penalties and achieve the comeback.
INCREDIBLE!!
GOAL FROM ATLÉTICO DE MADRID ON THE HOUR!
MEMPHIS FOR THE 2-1 THAT TIES THE SERIES AT GLOBAL!
📺 The #UCL, by #StarPlusLA pic.twitter.com/g1MKpGUgYr
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) March 13, 2024
Borussia Dortmund is another of those classified
Earlier, without needing extra time or a penalty shootout, Borussia Dortmund beat PSV 2-0 in Germany and with a 3-1 aggregate scoreline sealed their return to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League after three years since his last presence in this instance.
The German team took the lead three minutes into the first half through Jason Sancho, replaced in the second half with a physical problem, and gained peace from there.
However, it was not until the fifth minute of stoppage time in the second half that the story was put to rest, when Marco Reus, a reference for the Bavarian club, appeared.
Previously, the VAR had annulled a goal by Niklas Füllkrug in the 77th minute and kept the drama going until the end.
In the end the Dutch team regretted and will continue to regret for several days a crucial mistake by Luuk De Jong, who had the tie on his feet, but sent his shot too high.
Immediately afterwards came Reus's goal, a one-on-one against Argentine goalkeeper Walter Benítez, which made it 2-0.
Will Dortmund be the most desired ball in Friday's quarterfinal draw?
The answer is affirmative if we take into account the number of the other seven quarter-finalists already confirmed, all of them heavyweights in European football (Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético de Madrid). , and the irregular season of those led by Edin Terzic.
He was eliminated from the German Cup and is fourth in the Bundesliga standings, far from the fight for the title and focused on defending his place in the 'Top 4' to qualify for the next Champions League, facing the threat of an RB Leipzig , which has a point.
For its part, PSV, which has not qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals since 2007, will now have to concentrate on the domestic championship, the Dutch Eredivisie, where it is the undefeated leader.