Atleti overcome Inter on penalties in Champions League thriller

Lautaro Martinez missed the crucial penalty for Inter Milan as Atletico Madrid claimed a shootout victory to move into the Champions League quarter-finals.

Inter held a 1-0 lead from the first leg going into this game and doubled that lead when Federico Dimarco put them ahead after half an hour – but Atleti instantly responded through Antoine Griezmann’s leveller on the night two minutes later.

With the Spanish side still needing a goal to stay in the competition, the home side had to wait until 87 minutes as Memphis Depay scored a slick finish to send the Wanda Metropolitano into bedlam.

With the scores level, both sides missed chances in an eventful extra-time period but could not be separated – so penalties ensued. Alexis Sanchez’s miss was immediately cancelled out by Saul Niguez’s failed effort from 12 yards – before Davy Klaassen missed straight afterwards to hand the shootout advantage to Atleti.

With Martinez needing to score to keep his side in the contest, the Inter captain blazed over – seeing his side’s chances of progression go in the process.

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez misses in the penalty shootout
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Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez misses in the penalty shootout

“In the end it’s a bit about luck in the shootout,” Atleti goalkeeper Jan Oblak said after the game. “Because you have to choose the correct side and you have to make the stop.

“If the player takes the kick perfectly, it’s impossible to stop it. Gladly, I was able to make the saves. What matters is the victory and that we made it to the quarter-finals.”

The Champions League represents Atletico’s last realistic chance of a title this season. They were eliminated in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and sit fourth in LaLiga, 14 points behind leaders Real Madrid.

How Simeone and Atleti did it again

Atletico Madrid's head coach Diego Simeone celebrates at the end of the game
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Atletico Madrid’s head coach Diego Simeone celebrates at the end of the game

Atletico failed to get a single shot on target in the first leg at the San Siro but began fast, backed by a rocking home crowd in Madrid.

It was Inter, though, who opened the scoring. Nicolo Barella received the ball in the area and pulled it back to the waiting Dimarco who drove his shot straight down the middle past Oblak.

Atletico, now 2-0 down on aggregate, hit back immediately. Koke lifted a pass into the area which two Inter players missed completely as it fell to Griezmann who spun and made no mistake from close range.

Shortly before the break Griezmann was almost in again but his shot was deflected away by Benjamin Pavard with Sommer committed the other way.

Martinez set up two great chances for Inter to finish off the tie but Marcus Thuram and Nicolo Barella failed to take advantage when through on goal.

They were made to pay as Koke was again the provider. His pass into the box found Depay who swivelled and powered his shot to the bottom corner.

Atletico Madrid's Memphis Depay, second right, celebrates with his teammates
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Atleti players celebrate Depay’s late leveller to take the game into extra-time

Atletico could have won it before extra-time when Griezmann’s pass set up Rodrigo Riquelme but he sent his first-time shot over the bar to leave Diego Simeone face down on the sidelines in disbelief.

Atletico made the most of the penalty shootout and the stadium erupted as their manager was brought to tears after beating his former club and ex-team mate Simone Inzaghi.

The key stats

  • Four of the last five penalty shootouts in the UEFA Champions League have involved Atlético Madrid. Indeed, the Spanish side are the first team to win three separate shootouts in the competition’s history.
  • Atlético Madrid have progressed from a UEFA Champions League knockout tie in which they lost the first leg for the first time since the 2015-16 quarter final against Barcelona.
  • Inter failed to progress from a UEFA Champions League knockout tie in which they won the first leg for just a second tie, with the previous such instance coming in the 2005-06 quarter-final against Villarreal.
  • Inter lost a UEFA Champions League game in which they went 1-0 up for the first time since November 2019 vs Borussia Dortmund, having come into this game unbeaten in 19 in the competition when scoring first (W17 D2).
  • There were just 136 seconds between Federico Dimarco’s opener for Inter (1-0) and Antoine Griezmann’s equaliser for Atlético (1-1).
  • Antoine Griezmann has scored six goals in eight UEFA Champions League appearances for Atlético this season, only netting more in 2015-16 (7 goals in 13 games). The Frenchman has scored in all four of his appearances at the Cívitas Metropolitano in the competition this term.
  • Antoine Griezmann’s equaliser for Atlético was the first goal that Inter have conceded in an away knockout game in the UEFA Champions League since André Ayew’s strike for Marseille in the last 16 back in 2011-12, having kept four successive clean sheets in such matches prior to today.
  • Atlético forward Memphis Depay has scored nine UEFA Champions League goals, with eight of those either drawing his side level (3) or putting them one goal in the lead (5). Despite coming on in the 79th minute, his six attempts on goal this evening was the most on record (since 2003-04) by an Atlético substitute in a UEFA Champions League game.
  • At 30y & 129d, Atlético Madrid named their oldest ever starting XI for a UEFA Champions League knockout stage match, with this their 41st such game in the competition.

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Inter Milan considering move for Celtic midfielder O’Riley

Inter Milan are considering a January move for Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley.

The Serie A club are prepared to offer an initial loan until the end of the season with an obligation to buy him in the summer.

Inter are among an increasing number of top clubs sending scouts to watch O’Riley, amid an increase in his performance level again this season.

Aston Villa and West Ham have been watching him recently, as well as PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid, and all of these clubs have been present for his Champions League appearances, in which he made three assists.

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Take a look at all of Matt O’Riley’s goals for Celtic this season with the midfielder taking the Scottish Premiership by storm!

Inter are discussing whether to steal a march on potential rivals by making a move when the January transfer window begins, but it would take a record fee for Celtic to agree to any deal.

Their current record sale is around £25m for Jota from Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad last summer, which trumped the £23m they earned from Arsenal for Kieran Tierney in 2019.

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers understands midfielder Matt O’Riley will attract interest but he is not worried about losing his star player.

Ahead of their Scottish Premiership match against Livingston Brendan Rodgers insisted he remained focused on adding to his squad in January.

“I don’t have a fear on any of the players.

“I’m delighted for Matt that he’s made a fantastic step forward this season as a Celtic player and in his career.

“That shows that focus and mentality in the training and the confidence that he’s taking into the game, he’ll always attract interest of teams.

“I don’t have any fear, he’s a good guy and he works very hard and when you do that you’re always going to have interest that will come your way.

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“For now he’s very much focused on performing for Celtic and until the break.

“There’s still such a long way to go. We were consistently good then in the last week or so we haven’t been good enough, I can’t be any more clear on that.

“We want to add to the squad rather than take any away and the likes of Matt is a very important player for us.

O’Riley recently broke into the Denmark national team. In his first 24 games of the season in all competitions he has scored nine goals and notched eight assists.

In September, the 23-year-old ended contract speculation by agreeing a new deal with Celtic.

O’Riley committed his future until 2027 after the club turned down a £10m bid from Leeds United in the summer.

‘A top-class player you could watch play football all day’

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Kris Boyd believes Matt O’Riley will secure a big money move in the future after continuing to prove his class with his performances from last season

Speaking after Celtic’s 2-1 win at Hearts in October, Sky Sports’ Kris Boyd said O’Riley would be “one of the next ones to go in terms of big money”:

“Celtic have got this knack of bringing players in, giving them a platform to go and perform. They then go and move them on for big money.

“Matt O’Riley will be one of the next ones to go in terms of big money.

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Matt O’Riley rockets home Celtic’s second goal to put them ahead in the 78th minute

“Last season, everyone was raving about his assists, and rightly so, but there was always the doubt about whether he could add goals. He’s doing that now.

“You could sit and watch Matt O’Riley play football all day. He’s a top-class player. He glides about the pitch and Brendan Rodgers has obviously asked him to get forward more this season. He is reaping the benefits of that.”

When does the January window open?

The transfer window opens on Monday January 1, 2024 and will close at 11pm on Thursday February 1, 2024.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports’ digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.

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