Inter scored a goal in the quarter-finals

At the start of the play-offs of the Champions League football, two more matches took place. In the first confrontation between Inter and Atlético Madrid, the Milanese won 1:0. Despite such a modest advantage, they are now closer to reaching the quarterfinals and may well increase it in the return match. In the other pair, PSV tied with Borussia – 1:1.

In the first round of the current playoffs, probably only Inter and Atlético could be called a “pair of death”, to use the analogy usually applied to the composition of a particular group. Yes, at the group stage the Italian giant unexpectedly finished second, losing to Real Sociedad in additional indicators, but did not suffer a single defeat. And in general, many believe that Inter now looks even better than last season, when it reached the Champions League final. As for Atlético, they not only won the group, but also became the second most successful team in the preliminary stage after Manchester City.

True, Madrid’s attacking tandem of Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata, who scored five goals each and entered the top four scorers in the current Champions League, broke up. The Spanish striker was injured very inopportunely, did not have time to fully recover by the first match of the 1/8 finals and remained on the bench. But at Inter, on the contrary, the duo of forwards Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram played out in earnest, who have already scored 30 goals between them in the Italian Championship. Moreover, the Milanese are also fine with their defense, and their goalkeeper Yann Sommer has kept 20 clean sheets in all tournaments.

On the road, Atlético chose a cautious tactic, looking closely at what Inter would offer. The hosts tried to act proactively in accordance with their status, but experienced great difficulties in overcoming the active defense of the opponent. Except that Thuram had a moment when he was allowed to meet the ball in someone else’s penalty area, but the Frenchman had problems handling it. And the shot, which somehow had the potential to lead to a goal, was struck by the visiting left back Samuel Lino. And even though he shot a couple of meters wide, Atlético head coach Diego Simeone desperately grabbed his head, as if sensing that this would be almost the best chance for his players to score.

The team hit the target only in the 37th minute, when Martinez headed a high pass and crushed goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Thuram soon created a much clearer opportunity for the Argentine to score, but he was blocked by central defender Jose Maria Jimenez. Before the break, Thuram made a shot himself from outside the penalty area, but Oblak easily collected the ball. But in general, the first half was a sticky, sticky positional battle that lacked both entertainment and toughness. Referee Istvan Kovacs did not show a single yellow card and did not even have any reason to take the yellow card out of his pocket.

For the second half, Inter did not have Thuram, who was quite noticeable in such a calm match, and was apparently prevented from continuing the match by injury. He was replaced by Marko Arnautovic, and the Austrian could have immediately opened the scoring if he had adjusted to Federico Dimarco’s strong cross from the left flank. Meanwhile, Simeone, without thinking twice, brought Morata into the game. Marcos Llorente moved back a little in the new formation, however, it was he who almost ran away one on one with Sommer. But the real scoring chance came from the same Arnautovic, when he fell straight onto the goal after passing the ball with Martinez and fired as hard as he could above the crossbar.

Inter attacked more and with better quality. Oblak parried Martinez’s tight header, and then completely stopped his exit right in the center of the goal. However, in that episode, Arnautovic finally did everything right, supporting a quick attack and finishing the ball into the net. Madrid attempted to get a draw. Lino hit the post from a distance, and Morata reminded himself a couple of times, but the Milanese retained their minimal advantage, again keeping a clean sheet, and now it will probably be easier for them to fight for victory on aggregate.

After Borussia took first place in the “group of death” with PSG, Milan and Newcastle, it should have been considered a priori favorites before the confrontation with PSV. However, if she was given preference, it was with reservations that related to the outstanding performance of the club from Eindhoven in the Dutch Championship, where it has not lost since the beginning of the season. And Peter Bosz’s team finished the group stage in the Champions League with only one defeat. Such a PSV posed a serious danger.

The hosts really made Borussia sweat. True, the guests, having withstood the initial onslaught, achieved success through the efforts of the Dutchman Doniell Malen, who played for PSV before moving to Dortmund. He didn’t even celebrate the goal against his former team, although he scored from a very difficult position – from an acute angle, through two defenders and under the crossbar. There was a rebound there, but Malen, of course, played great. In the second half, Eindhoven equalized the score when Dortmund central defender Mats Hummels brought down Malik Tillman in the penalty area and Luuk de Jong converted the penalty. As a result, the meeting ended in a 1:1 draw, which clarified absolutely nothing in this confrontation. On the other hand, Borussia will definitely be the favorite at home.

Alexander Ilyin