“Atletico Madrid destroyed one of the best in Europe”

For the first time in 2024, Inter lost a football match. The Nerazzurri came up as favorites for the round of 16 rematch today (Wednesday) against Atlético Madrid but eventually lost, 3:2 on penalties, in a game that was all about Atlético.

Inter scored first, was better and dictated its pace for long minutes, but in the end the experience of the experienced Atlético prevailed. Antoine Griezmann scored an immediate equalizer two minutes after the first goal, and in the 87th minute Memphis Depay made it 1:2 which sent the game to overtime. Ricardo Riquelme still managed to miss, but the penalties were another story.

The European runners-up couldn’t withstand the pressure of penalties in front of 70,460 maddened Atletico Madrid fans, a team that was devastated, and the Colchaneros knocked out what was considered the third-ranked team behind Real Madrid and Manchester City. Ahead of a draw that includes potential giant rivals, Diego Simeone’s side – in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2020 and only the second time since 2017 – reminded us, once again, that nobody really wants to meet them.

The hero was Jan Oblak, the veteran goalkeeper in one of his greatest penalty plays. “San Oblak”, they wrote in “AS” and compared him to another legendary goalkeeper in Madrid, Iker Casillas. Oblak, a goalkeeper who has not saved a penalty since 2022, saved two penalties in the duel here. “Oblek made the best saves I’ve seen in years,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s Seb Safford Bloor. Oblak, an excellent goalkeeper, is not considered one who specializes in penalties.

“Oblek’s penalties, Koke’s control of the midfield, Griezmann’s goal after a weak decoy, what Stefan Savic did. Atlético destroyed one of the best teams in Europe,” wrote Miguel Quintana of DAZN, and it feels so natural. This is the team’s tenth quarter-final in the Champions League since 2014.

Liverpool at its peak, Manchester United and more already came to the games against Atlético Madrid in the champions as favorites, but were unable to crack Diego Simeone’s bunker. Even this time, when they fell behind at home for the first time in the Argentinian coach’s era, the team with the greatest character in Europe did not break. This group, with the small resources compared to countries with a budget the size of those countries, found itself again in the quarter finals. No matter what team you’re a fan of, you probably don’t want to meet them.