[ad_1]
MADRID (AP) — With tears in his eyes, Diego Simeone stared at the Atlético de Madrid fans celebrating in the stands of the Metropolitan Stadium.
Minutes before, the coach was walking back and forth next to the sideline, without being able to witness the tense penalty shootout that ended with Atlético’s victory over Inter Milan and advancement to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Jan Oblak made two saves and Lautaro Martínez sent his shot over the bar as Atlético defeated Inter 3-2 on penalties after scoring the late winner in normal time on Wednesday.
“He was moving,” Simeone said. “I am happy for the players and the fans. We are once again among the eight best teams in Europe. “That says a lot about this club.”
Oblak saved penalties from Alexis Sánchez and Davy Klaassen before Martínez missed the final kick for last year’s runners-up finish in the European competition.
“In the end, it’s a little bit of luck on penalties,” Oblak said. “Because you have to choose the right side and you have to make the save. If the player executes the shot perfectly, it is impossible to stop it. With great pleasure I was able to make the saves. What matters is the victory and that we have reached the quarterfinals.”
Memphis Depay, Rodrigo Riquelme and Ángel Correa converted their penalties for Atlético, and Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer saved Saúl Ñíguez’s shot. Hakan Calhanoglu and Francesco Acerbi scored for the visitors in the penalty shootout.
Atlético overturned a 1-0 first-leg defeat after Depay scored an 87th-minute goal to give Simeone’s team a 2-1 victory in regulation time.
Atlético did not make it past the group stage last season and was eliminated by Manchester City in the quarterfinals in 2021-22.
Inter, who lost last year’s final against Manchester City, arrived at the Metropolitano enjoying a streak of 13 consecutive victories. They had not lost in 15 consecutive matches in all competitions and had won all their matches in 2024.
“We should be proud of what we did in this Champions League,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi. “In the second half we should have done better. In extra time we had more energy but unfortunately we made too many mistakes.”
Inter opened the scoring in regulation time with Federico Dimarco in the 33rd, but Atlético equalized two minutes later with Antoine Griezmann on his return from injury.
In Wednesday’s other Champions League match, Borussia Dortmund defeated PSV Eindhoven 2-0 at home to advance 3-1 on aggregate.
The eight teams in the quarterfinal draw are Atlético, Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Arsenal and Barcelona.
It was an open match at the Metropolitano, with Atlético pressing from the beginning and Inter threatening on the counterattack.
The hosts dominated the final part of the match and created several chances until Depay scored the winning goal with a low shot from inside the area after a good assist from midfielder Koke Resurrección.
Inter had increased their lead in the first leg with Dimarco scoring with a low shot from the center of the area after a pass from Nicolo Barella following a breakaway in the 33rd.
But Atlético did not take long to respond, tying a couple of minutes later with a goal from Griezmann after picking up a loose ball inside the area.
Griezmann was returning to action after twisting his ankle in the first leg in Italy three weeks ago. The French striker has been key for Atlético this season, but he had not scored in eight consecutive games in all competitions.
Barella had the chance to score Inter’s second goal on a breakaway in the 82nd, but shot weakly in a one-on-one with Oblak. Depay had hit the post in the 85th minute, a few minutes after coming off the bench to replace Álvaro Morata.
Riquelme came close to sealing Atlético’s victory in the third minute of injury time in regulation, but his shot from near the penalty spot missed over the crossbar. Simeone fell to the ground after the ball went over the net.
Atlético arrived with a great record at home, but had only won two of their last nine games in all competitions.
The Champions League represents Atlético’s last realistic chance at a title this season. They were eliminated in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey and occupy fourth place in the Spanish league, 14 points behind leaders Real Madrid.
___
AP Football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
[ad_2]
Source link