90+1 min Just as last night, the third-best team in Portugal took the premier League leaders all the way, now the fourth-best side in La Liga, 19 points off the leaders, are level with the runaway leaders in Serie A.
90 min We’ll have three additional minutes.
89 min I didn’t think that was coming, I must say. Atleti have huffed and puffed but not really shown enough quality to score, while Inter looked comfy. Inzaghi has yet to see the funny side of that goal.
Absolute mayham! Depay has made a difference and when Koke slides a short , hard pass into the box, he adjust body so it slips into stride, takes another touch, and lamps another coruscating low shot across his body, and this time he hits the corner! The ground combusts, players piling on to players on to crowd, and what a racket! What a sport!
85 min OH MY DAYS! Memphis prompts outside the box, tricking past Martinez and finding Correa inside the box, who feeds it back. So he punches into Koke, follows the ball, and when it arrives into stride, he flings the entirety of his corporeality into a terrifying drive that clobbers the inside of the near post … and shoots away to safety!
84 min Barella now can’t continue so Frattesi replaces him, and Bisseck is on for Dimarco. Save that Griezmann chance, Atleti haven’t created much – and Inter haven’t let them.
82 min Now here come Inter again! This breathless stuff! Martinez slithers forward and again picks the right pass, into the path of the onrushing Barella. But his first touch takes him away from goal and he doesn’t trust his pace, so he shoots from the edge … straight at Oblak.
81 min Atleti are coming now, A low, hard cross from Correa arriving at Depay, but just as he’s about to shoot, Darmian extends a desperate leg that averts danger.
79 min Nice from Atleti, Llorente into Correa who finds Barrios down the right. And his cross is a goodun too, seeking out Depay, but Pavard does superbly to put him off as he heads goalwards.
79 min Two more changes for Atleti, Barrios replacing Molina and Depay Morata.
76 min FINISH HIM! When the corner is cleared and Atleti pump the ball back into the Inter box, a header out finds Lautaro who takes it for a walk, opens body, and guides a luscious pass between two defenders to set Thuram away! But with the last eight beckoning, he gets a little headrush, leathering over the bar as his manager cusses him on the touchline
75 min Again, inter pass the ball about the back four, something they do and are doing really well. Atleti are struggling, but here comes little Riquelme, scooting across Darmian and dragging a shot wide of the near post. Riquelme and scooting, not words often seen proximate to one another. Corner.
73 min Goodness me! Bournemouth have come from 3-0 down to win 4-3 against Luton.
72 min now two changes for Inter: Darmian for Dumfries and Acerbi for Bastoni, so fresh, less adventurous defenders for tired, adventurous defenders.
71 min Two changes for Atleti: Correa for De Paul and Riquelme for Lino. I wonder if that means a 4-4-2.
70 min Football is the greatest thing in the world, part infinity:
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 13, 2024
nn"}}” config=”{"renderingTarget":"Web","darkModeAvailable":false}”>
Owen and Ange met at September’s Fan Forum.
When he came to visit training there was something the boss wanted to show him 🤍 #LotsOfSocks pic.twitter.com/MY06OSDiBc
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 13, 2024
68 min A problem Atleti have is every time they try and shot or cross, Inter knocks it about at the back and they can’t do anything for the next few minutes. They also need someone to help Morata, and then perhaps a few more crosses.
66 min Inter again sit on the edge, Atleti moving the ball from side to side before De Paul humps from one touchline over the other – which, though not a shot immediately put me in mind of this joy:
65 min I wonder if Simeone will soon change something. He likes Correa off the bench, but I’d expect to see Memphis soon too – though again, I want to see Vemeeren. Anyone watched him lots?
63 min Mkhitaryan plays a poor pass towards Lautaro, but Witsel is committed to the tread and Inter have a free-kick inside the Atleti half. They go short with it, keep the ball for a bit, then Savic does well to head out a dangerous cross and the home side build again.
62 min “Inter’s team has lots of players who have extremely high ceilings, but very low floors,” reckons Kári Tulinius. “Inzaghi has wrought a system that allows all of them to shine, but he must also have great man-management skills to have every one of these flawed gems catch the light just so.”
Yup, I agree. He doesn’t seem a man awfully well-acquainted with being told no.
60 min De paul releases Llorente, Atleti getting joy down the right. And the cross is a decent one too: all Moratz needs to do is a little overs and Griezmann is again in ye’ve gottae score territory. But instead he swings a shin at it, the ball skews behind, and Simeone smoulders.
58 min More Inter possession. The better teams are now so good in possession all over the pitch that when they meet one another it can be hard for either to sustain attacks.
56 min Inter take the sting out of things and will surely feel they’re better with than without the ball. Sitting in shape doesn’t necessarily give them control, but after some possession they release Mhitaryan and the ball goes wide to Dumfries, but Lino gets in front and draws the foul. it’s a pretty good likeness too.
55 min That Griezmann chance though – he’ll do well to get a better one. But now Inter know their vaunted defence can give up opportunities like that, which won’t be good for their equilibrium.
53 min Atleti are building momentum, the crowd getting behind them and Inter defending the box.
51 min Ye’ve gottae score! De Paul lifts a nice ball down the line, Llorente lifts cleverly over the head of Dimarco and pushes into the path of the onrushing and unmarked Griezmann! He could even take a touch, but opts to punch first time … straight at Sommer! What a chance that was, and what Morata finishing that was.
52 min “Fully agree with your comment on Peak Atléti,” writes Edward Ricketts. “A supreme example in the Champions League was the 2016 semi second leg against an excellent Bayern side, losing 2-1 but going through on away goals after the most magnificent, desperate, ugly, thrilling, defiant, organised, shithousing second half defensive display I’ve ever witnessed.”
I remember it well, and not just because I’d backed them.
50 min De Paul gives away to Barella, who moves on to Calhanoglu, but as he shoots, Griezmann nashes back and stops him, sliding in front of the ball to block.
49 min I imagine Atleti will still be relatively circumspect, backing themselves to find a goal without conceding if they are. I think Inter, though, should go at them because if they do they’ll score, whereas they might defend really well and still concede.
48 min Atleti push forward, then Llorente thunders a cross miles away from anywhere, even Selhurst Park.
46 min “It’s not called the Wanda anymore,” chides Harvey Halton. “It’s the Civitas Metropolitano. Just call it the Metropolitano.”
I can’t lie, i was thinking of this at the time, one of those films my parents raved about but refused to let me watch. No, not one of those.
46 min We go again, Atleti needing a goal to force extra time.
Plenty of excitement in the Premier League today,” says Peter Pearson. “Bournemouth just made it 3-3 against Luton with a little under a half hour to go. Goal fest.”
Also, Luton were 3-0 up. They’ve been a lot of fun to watch, and I hope they stay up.
Half-time fun:
In Dortmund, the home side still lead PSV 1-0 on the night, 2-1 on aggregate.
That warmed up, and I’d expect plenty of tension, petulance, aggression and desperation in what’s to come. Lovely stuff.
44 min In comms, they fancy Atleti, but it’s still huff and puff the way I see it. I think Inter will score again, and I can’t see them conceding twice.
43 min De Paul does really well to run back and win possession he lost, it goes wide to Llorente and into Griezmann coming back from offside and shimmying as he waves feet over ball, desperate not to touch it because he only has centimetres in which to work. Bastoni is foxed too, allowing him to make an angle for a shot as he ducks inside and rolls towards the corner … only for Pavard to stretch a leg with Sommer alreadymoving the other way.
42 min “Would you say Atletico v Inter is more a chess match,” wonders Terry Daley, “or two heavyweights sizing each other up?”
It’s funny how these things become part of the lexicon isn’t it? The only kids’ game it’s alright to use as an example of winning mentality is tiddlywinks, which I find grossly unfair on Stratego, Pishy-Pashy and Guess Whom.
41 min Hermoso misjudges the path of a ball so Barella stabs it away from him; he’s quickly hauled back, and the defender is booked.
38 min “I agree wholeheartedly with your comment on 20 minutes, returns Joe Pearson. “I’m double-screening, and find myself watching much more of Dortmund – PSV. And besides, do Atleti ever play enjoyable matches? They’ll need to even this up to engage their peak house mode, right?”
I really enjoyed peak Atleti – they were a team I found it fun to watch defending a lead or a 0-0. Now, though, without the same quality and youthfulness, the vibe is different – to come over all how do you do fellow kids, they’ve turned painball into sufferball.
36 min Not so. De Vrij’s foot played Morata on, and Pavard tried playing the ball before Griezmann shot. We have ourselves a ball-game.
NOW THEN! this goal is a fantastic mess, a cross half-cleared to Koke, who lifts hopefully back into the box. Bastoni tries to hook it clear, falls in comedic style, and Griezmann is there to swivel and open body, easing home an expert’s finish. But was Morata offside when the ball came in? Was Griezmann?
Is this the tie?! Lautaro again comes deep, lays back for Mkhitaryan who moves it Bastoni, keeping the width! He sends Barella away towards the line, Dimarci is shrieking for the cut-back, and when it comes he allows it across his body to punch confidently past Oblak. Long way back from here.
32 min I said earlier Inter have the class advantage, but watching this, it’s very clear that even they don’t have the kind of individuals likely to be definitive in the biggest games against the best opponents. That, of course, means they need a system, which is the genius of Inzaghi.
31 min Atleti keep at it, Mkhitaryan losing control and trying to intimate a foul by De Paul. The ref, though, is having no such thing and when the ball reaches Molina, he looks to bend inside the far top corner, wafting high instead.
28 min Koke drives through midfield then when he gets the ball back, spreads to Hermoso who, taking a leaf out of Inzaghi’s manual as a crossing centre-back, picks out Morata in the middle, about the penalty spot! But the pass is just behind him so, though he gets decent power in his header, having to contort body to get at it denies him the possibility of directing it where Sommer isn’t.
27 min Inter probe. They’re getting their passing going, both out of defence and into midfield. I’ll say it again, but if they make this a test of quality, and they can, they win. If they consent to Atleti’s desired test of fibre, they may still win – but they may also lose.
26 min The cameras at the Wanda are too high. We shouldn’t feel like we’re in the back row of the top tier.
23 min Now Atleti come, Koke, his influence growing, picking a pass into Griezmann who, on the edge, swivels to loop a curler over the top.
22 min Inter are asserting. They play out pleasantly and Martinez holds up well, holding off Savic and laying off for Mkhitaryan – yes, he’s playing, though never has anyone been easier to forget. The elusive Armenian coaxes a lovely ball forward for Dimarco, charging down the left, and there’s a man in the middle … but Witsel does brilliantly to slide in an intercept.
20 min On telly, they’re rhapsodising how entertaining this game is, but I can’t quite see why. Neither side look all that, there’s been very little hint of goalmouth action never mind goalmouth action, and not as much physical menace as I’d hoped for.
18 min What’s that?! Barella caresses a pass forwards to Martinez who fancies an instashot and why not, given the form he’s in. And though he doesn’t catch it right, it takes a deflection that has Oblak scrambling to make sure it stays out.
16 min Calhanoglu plays a clever pass into Martinez, coming off the front, and his clever touch almost sticks Thuram in. You can see Inter have far more class going forward, and my sense is that if they find the confidence to play that way, they’ll win match and tie.
Source: theguardian.com
