Inter Milan defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 at home on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, thanks to a late strike from substitute Marko Arnautovic. The Austrian striker, who replaced the injured Marcus Thuram at half-time, scored after Lautaro Martínez’s effort was stopped by goalkeeper Jan Oblak in the 79th minute of the game. It was only the sides’ second meeting, with Atletico winning 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup back in 2010. The return match is scheduled for March 13 in the Spanish capital.
Inter Milan players wore black armbands as their fans at San Siro paid tribute to the club’s former player Germany World Cup-winner Andreas Brehme, who died at 63 earlier on Tuesday.
Inter Milan dominated the encounter right from the start, and while Atletico had chances, the home side’s excellent and rock-solid defense kept the visitors away from scoring. Samuel Lino had Atletico’s first chance, but his right-footed curler went just wide of the far post. Martinez and Thuram had opportunities to break the deadlock for Inter before the break, but they were denied by a tenacious defense, with Slovenian Oblak saving or blocking their shots.
Inter Milan began the second half on the attack, with Federico Dimarco delivering a cross to Arnautovic, who slipped in somewhat late and blasted the ball over from close range. Just after the hour, the home fans were frustrated again as Arnautovic, who had found himself free in front of goal, fired another chance over the crossbar before the villain became the night’s hero with his late winner. Despite the late win, Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi had cause for concern as Frenchman Thuram, a key player this season, was substituted at halftime, after seemingly struggling with a leg injury. The 26-year-old forward player has made a major contribution this season, with 12 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.
It’s very satisfying. The lads were wonderful against a physical, technical side that did not make it at all easy, Inzaghi said after the win. We know this is only the first leg, the second match will be tough, and certainly, there are regrets for the result considering with all that we created, we deserved a wider scoreline. This is football, we keep going, the Italian added.
Meanwhile, PSV Eindhoven fought back to draw against Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie at the Philips Stadion. The second leg will be played in Dortmund on March 13.
