There are moments when stopping anything from happening becomes, paradoxically, the smartest move available. In that mindset, Atlético de Madrid, inside Giuseppe Meazza, faced an Inter side that holds Italy’s Serie A with undeniable authority, and a storm seemed to be raging in their own home. “Everyone watching the match will be a little bored,” was the warning after the draw a few months earlier. Griezmann is a man who rarely bends the truth, and this time he did not waver. The red-and-white team came close to snatching a 0-0 prize by travelling to Milan to avoid mistakes. Arnautovic Across the rematch, scheduled for March 13, a single goal decided the tie. A big-city clash, indeed.
Get used to repetition Diego Pablo Simeone in the qualifying rounds and even in the Champions League, not two 90-minute matches are played, but a single match of at least 180 minutes. Conflicts, as seen here, unfold through tactics, or sometimes through rushed decisions where the fear of losing overrides the pursuit of a partial but not certain victory, which could help decide the tie. The Argentinian coach anticipated a duel, split by the side that triumphed more in that phase of the game. He hoped to be close to victory. It is certainly a match he would have preferred to play as a player, not from the bench.
The truth is that neither team backed down from the challenge. With Saul at the center of the field and with continuity in commitment, Marcos Llorente at the attacking point, Atlético, buoyed by a rested Griezmann after returning to league action against Almería, matched Inter’s power and intensity at times. Warned by the poor away precedents this season, the red-and-white team kept their ears pricked and pressed onto the turf in a disciplined, concentrated manner, aiming to hit on the counter and frustrate the first Interforays.
In fact, it was the first time the teams clashed on a field with a boarding-school-like tension. On the left wing, Llorente could not finish. By the 15th minute what looked like a warning mercifully turned into a warning sign. The visitors’ only coherent attack of the first half came from Inter’s side. Atlético’s strong start gradually tilted into an away advantage. Inter held the ball without giving too much away and even managed to take the lead by capitalizing on two misplays in the release of the ball by De Paul and Koke. A presence everywhere, Witsel, colossal and rejuvenated as a defender this year, Thuram and Lautaro provided the momentum for the Nerazzurri.
Giménez and Thuram’s injuries
The halftime break brought two changes, one for each side and both inevitable. Thuram, arguably Inter’s most dangerous player in the first half, was replaced by Arnautovic, and Giménez, who had picked up an injury, was replaced by Savic. Those substitutions altered the flow of the first half and opened the final stretch to a more open, dynamic phase of the game. Inter showed why they sat second in Europe at that moment.
The Italians managed to seize the lead on a few obvious occasions but fell short when Arnautovic, cool as he entered the area, turned the sequence in his favor after DiMarco delivered a sharp cross and then a decisive wall into the box. Lautaro pressed forward as the team reorganized, and Cholo deployed Reinildo for Mario Hermoso while bringing in Morata, who had been sidelined by an injury in Sevilla a week earlier, to inject fresh life into the attack.
Morata joined the fray with renewed intent, hoping to spark a breakthrough as Inter grew more aggressive. The striker contributed to the collective effort, joining teammates in pressuring the Inter defense and attempting to stretch the game. Ten minutes later, a glaring miscommunication between De Paul and Reinildo allowed Lautaro to be left isolated against Oblak; the goalkeeper won the one-on-one, but Lautaro cashed in on the rebound with Arnautovic capitalizing in the empty net.
One mistake at the wrong moment and the Champions League will punish you. Arnautovic makes his athletic job harder than ever. (via MovistarFutbol) [Airing footage of the clash].
It brought more bad news: Griezmann sustained an impact and left the field, while Inter sensed a chance to seal a second goal in the final moments to complete a comeback. Yet Atlético managed to dodge defeat as Morata’s header narrowly missed the target. A superb ball from Lino proved decisive, and both sides walked away with a result neither had initially wanted, leaving everything open for the return leg.
Everything remains in play for the return. The stage is set for another unforgettable showdown, with both teams aware that a single moment can flip the tie and tilt the balance toward a dramatic late finish.