Tiktekno, 13.3/Sport1
After an embarrassing elimination last season in the group stage of the Champions League, Atlético Madrid returned last night (Wednesday) to the quarter-finals of the continental plant after a great drama against Inter.
The leader of the Italian league, which won all its games in 2024, took the lead in the Wanda Metropolitano and led 0:2 on aggregate, but Antoine Griezmann and Memphis Depay with a dramatic goal in the 87th minute made it 1:2 in the return leg and 2:2 on aggregate, forcing extra time and penalties.
In the duel from the penalty spot, it was Jan Oblak who stepped up and eliminated the European runner-up with two stops against Alexis Sanchez and Davey Klaasen.
Jan Sommer stopped Saul from the other side, but Lautro Martins kicked into the sky and the colchoneros celebrated 2:3 and promotion to the quarter-finals, where there will be three representatives for Spain and not one for Italy.
Diego Simeone, who fell to his knees in despair when Ricardo Riquelme missed in extra time, was ecstatic at the end and celebrated the victory over his Italian ex while tens of thousands of fans chanted: "Cholo, Cholo".
Immediately after the decisive kick, Simeone was seen celebrating with tears of joy, struggling to hide his great excitement.
"Everyone made a great effort tonight - from the first fans to the last players, it's everyone's night. It's the night of Griezmann who pushed himself until he couldn't do it anymore, of Memphis who came in and added a spark to us, of everyone who stood up to the pressure in the penalties. I'm happy for Oblak, He is an exceptional goalkeeper, one of the best in the world, and he is happy to be here with us. It is very difficult to score a penalty against him, and tonight he saved us."
Pero qué hace Thuram agarrándole los huevos a Savic???
???
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— gam (@mbafraudee) March 13, 2024
Antoine Griezmann also looked happy at the end, after an impressive sacrifice game.
During the penalty shootout, Griezmann was "caught" biting Alexis Sanchez, and was recorded saying to his teammates after the latter missed a penalty: "This Chilean is shit, he's just shit."
"I made great efforts to go up to play tonight," said Griezmann at the end.
"I wasn't at my best in the morning, after the game against Bilbao I was sure I wouldn't play, because I couldn't step on my foot. But I decided I wasn't ready to lose a game like that."
During the overtime there was an event that excited the spectators at home and was not addressed by the referee on the field, when Marcus Toram grabbed Stefan Savich's testicles, like Eyal Berkovic did to Itzik Zohar in the semi-finals of the State Cup in 1995/96.
The French Inter striker later apologized to the Atlético stopper, but the question remains as to why the fourth official or the screen officials did not draw Simon Marciniak's attention to the incident.
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Jan Oblak said at the end: "The atmosphere was fantastic, as always at home. The fans never fail. We can, but they can't. They were there for us and helped a lot, everyone can go home happy. We played a great game and gave everything on the pitch. Let's hope That we can bring happiness to our fans and win the title this season. The penalties? I always say that there is also a matter of luck, you choose a corner and hope to stop. If it's a perfect kick, I have no chance. Today I was able to stop twice."
On the other side, Simona Inzaghi concluded a frustrating evening.
"We deserved more than that, but we leave here with our heads held high. We finished the season undefeated in the factory, but tonight we unfortunately met a very brave opponent, who played a great game especially in the second half."
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