Rehabilitation of Arnautovic
The confrontation between Inter and Atlético could be considered one of the most interesting in the 1/8 finals of the Champions League. And not only because Diego Simeone had to lead the main team for the first time in his coaching career against the team in which he spent three years and won almost the most prestigious international trophy as a football player. Both the Milanese and Madrid had something to prove, and it was extremely difficult to name a favorite. Even if on paper everything looked pretty clear.
If we put past merits aside, the current Champions League finalist and a team that a year ago did not even qualify for the playoffs were about to meet at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. Then the “mattress guys” failed massively and took only fourth place in a group with Bayer Leverkusen, Porto and Brugge, while the Nerazzurri overcame three stages. True, in the context of that success it was impossible to take into account a number of nuances, the main one of which was the extremely successful draw. Thus, Inter miraculously managed to avoid meetings with the top players until the decisive round, where they lost to Manchester City.
Partly because of this, Inter could be considered favorites for the first match with Atlético, but there were other reasons. For example, the winning streak of Simone Inzaghi's team of eight meetings in all tournaments, as well as obvious problems with Simeone's gang. In the last five games, they prevailed only twice, and then only over the modest Rayo Vallecano and Las Palmas. But she sent the latter five unanswered goals.
In Milan, one could not count on this, because two very organized, systematic teams appeared against each other. The first half was extremely closed, and in the first half hour the opponents generated 0.08 expected goals (xG) each. The guests competently blocked all the zones and did not allow the Nerazdurri forwards to run wild, but they themselves created almost nothing in front. Antoine Griezmann was taken out of the game, and Samuel Lino's runs along the left touchline did not lead to anything serious.
Only at the end of the half did Inter begin to find free zones in Atlético's dense defense. First, Lautaro Martinez shot from outside the penalty area, and then Marcus Thuram fired from afar. And if in the first case the defenders managed to block the attempt, then in the second it was Jan Oblak who came to the rescue. It’s all the more offensive that at the very end the Frenchman pulled a muscle and after the break did not come out, giving way to Marko Arnautovic. Simeone responded to this by replacing Jose Maria Jimenez with Stefan Savic, which, apparently, was also forced.
And during the second half, Nerazzurri fans had a reason to show their dissatisfaction with the actions of the Austrian. Arnautovic had two good chances in the first 18 minutes, but in both cases he was not at his best. But if he can hardly be blamed for an inaccurate volley, his miss from a few meters after a great wall with Martinez shocked not only the spectators, but also himself. It seemed that Marco only had to move the ball and Oblak to different angles, but he missed.
However, Inter were still better, and after the appearance of Denzel Dumfries on the field, the pressure became colossal. The hosts launched a real assault on the opponent's goal, but Oblak caught the courage. With a difference of two minutes, the Slovak first took the ball tightly after a powerful header from Martinez, and then did not allow the same Lautaro to realize a one-on-one opportunity. But the same Arnautovic arrived in time to finish off, having made amends for two mistakes at the beginning of the half. And even if not without a rebound from the defender, he still opened the scoring.
By this time, Simeone had already made all five substitutions, removing both Saul Niguez and Griezmann, who felt discomfort in his right leg, from the field. And it was the players who came off the bench that could save Atlético from defeat. Angel Correa made a targeted pass into the goalkeeper's area, but Alvaro Morata's header was inaccurate. Inter held on to the winning score, won nine times in a row for the first time since 2021 and moved closer to reaching the quarterfinals.
Atlético Madrid forward Alvaro Morata
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Controversial PSV penalty and Malen's goal to the "former"
Surprisingly, PSV's chances of success in the first match with Borussia Dortmund were assessed even higher than Atlético's in the confrontation with Inter. And it was extremely difficult to explain this with anything other than the home field advantage. Yet over the past 17 years, the red and white have only reached the 1/8 finals of the Champions League twice and have surpassed this stage once. In 2007, they sensationally dealt with Arsenal, and were beaten only by the future finalist, Liverpool. But if then the colors of the team from Eindhoven were defended by such stars as Patrick Kluivert, Philip Cocu and Michael Reisiger, then this time the composition was noticeably weaker. Thus, the top three most expensive performers, according to Transfermarkt, included winger Joan Bakayoko, central midfielder Yoei Verman and forward Irvin Lozano, who failed to develop at Napoli.
Perhaps the bookmakers were also confused by Dortmund's results in February. By this time, Edin Terzic's team had only gained the upper hand over Freiburg and shared points with Heidenheim and Wolfsburg, which is why they significantly complicated their position in the fight for a ticket to the Champions League for the next season. Not only had the gap to third-placed Stuttgart already reached five points, but Leipzig was also hot on their heels. We should not forget about the injuries of a number of performers. Thus, Karim Adeyemi, Sebastian Allaire and Felix Nmecha could not enter the Philips Arena field.
And PSV clearly tried to take advantage of the opponent’s problems. In the first half, Peter Bosz's team tried to fight on equal terms with their more venerable opponents and responded with their attack to every attack they made. But the difference in class was still felt. If in the first 45 minutes the Dutch shot at goal seven times, but hit the target only once, then the Germans tested the vigilance of Walter Benitez three times. And in one of the episodes the goalkeeper still made a mistake. Former teammates were upset by Donyell Malen, who fired a great shot into the top, but still near, corner.
However, PSV did not lose heart and continued to put pressure on Borussia's defense after the break. And he achieved his goal quite quickly. Chief referee Srdjan Jovanovic spotted a violation in the actions of Mats Hummels and pointed to the spot. Although the replay showed that the German first played the ball, and only then caught Malik Tillman’s leg. But the video assistant agreed with his colleague, and the most experienced Luuk de Jong calmly converted the penalty.
And in the remaining time the opponents were very far from scoring. In total, although the teams took ten shots in the second half, they produced only 0.69 xG in total (not counting penalties). And even though PSV were more active and visited a third of the opponent’s field much more often, they didn’t remember anything serious. Borussia, on the other hand, chose not to take any further risks and postpone all the most important things for the next match. Fortunately, the Dortmund team will hold it at their home stadium, Signal Iduna Park.
Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels
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