“To honor, through difficulties” – this was the message displayed on the banner that hung above the south stand of the Metropolitano, and it proved to be true. Despite the challenges they faced, the team persevered and ultimately achieved glory. It was a wild and suspenseful night, even resulting in the manager’s injury, but in the end, Atlético Madrid emerged victorious.
In a highly competitive game, where the outcome was uncertain and could have resulted in multiple wins or losses, the final decision was determined by a penalty. At 11:43 PM in the local time, Lautaro Martínez, surprisingly, sent the ninth penalty kick soaring towards the north end.
In 2024, for the first time, Internazionale lost a football match in a heartbreaking manner. This was only the second shootout in the competition in almost ten years, but now there have been two in the span of two days. With a total of 38 shots, Atlético emerged as the 2-1 victors, but it would take nine more penalty kicks to determine the outcome of this intense battle.
The finalists from last year have been eliminated. Atlético has advanced to the next round, thanks to substitute Memphis Depay who scored a late goal and gave an exceptional performance to push the game into extra time. He then confidently scored his penalty kick into the net, while goaltender Jan Oblak made two incredible saves to secure their victory.
The initial loss in the first leg had been reversed, as well as the first goal conceded in the second leg. Despite facing obstacles, such as Saúl Ñíguez missing a penalty and Yann Sommer saving attempts from Alexis Sánchez and Davy Klaassen, Atlético still managed to triumph. The joy was palpable, overshadowing the exhaustion that had set in. The players had been giving their all for two full hours, and even the ball boys had been tirelessly running since the beginning of the match, approaching the opening minutes with the same intensity as if they were the final ones. However, the final moments were the most intense and heart-stopping of them all.
After returning from San Siro, Atlético made a comeback by firing a shot on target within three minutes, courtesy of Stefan Savic. This was already more than what they had accomplished in the entire first leg. They had a chance to take the lead early on when Samuel Lino bounced off of Nicolò Barella, evaded Stefan de Vrij, and took a hard low shot that was saved by Sommer.
Initially, there was a sense of precision and decisiveness from Inter that gave the impression that this match could be resolved quickly. This was demonstrated when Denzel Dumfries caused Oblak to make a double save, and the goal was scored in the 33rd minute.
When Federico Dimarco finished a slick move built by Martínez, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alessandro Bastoni and finally Barella, you could be forgiven for thinking this was done. High in the away end, Italians lit up their phones but were still being waved when Atlético equalised, a slightly comic goal changing the feeling here. And, ultimately, the outcome. Benjamin Pavard made a mess of a clearance, swiping, missing and falling, to leave Antoine Griezmann alone to score.
The French player missed a chance to score when assisted by Marcos Llorente in the beginning of the second half, as he shot straight at Sommer. Shortly after, Llorente managed to break through once again but Álvaro Morata’s shot was not successful. On the other hand, Inter could have sealed the win as Martínez set up Marcus Thuram and Barella, both of whom failed to convert their chances. This led to an intense and open end to the game as Atlético attempted to score against Inter.
In particular, Memphis proved to be a game-changer by missing three opportunities within a short span of time. He came close to scoring when Ángel Correa set him up, but couldn’t quite convert. In the 85th minute, his powerful shot ricocheted off the post. Finally, with only three minutes remaining, he skillfully maneuvered in the box to score an incredible goal, causing the entire stadium to erupt in excitement.
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Simeone was injured as he hurried to join his celebrating team members, but ended up on the ground when Griezmann assisted Rodrigo Riquelme for the winning goal with only 20 seconds left. It was the moment they had been waiting for, but unfortunately the shot went over the goal. Despite the initial disappointment, Riquelme was able to make up for it by scoring from the penalty spot.
Similar to the athletes on the field, Simeone stood up once more despite the exhaustion in his muscles and lungs. The start of extra time saw Yann Bisseck’s cross setting up Thuram for a header, followed by a delivery from Riquelme to Memphis who had their shot miraculously saved by Sommer. At the opposite end, Martínez’s header just barely missed the mark.
The nerves were tense, the space was breached, a sense of desperate chaos permeated the scene. Amidst it all, acts of heroism and selflessness stood out. Despite being emotionally exhausted, the players persevered until the very end, when they were confronted with even more challenges and opportunities for honor.
Source: theguardian.com
