Atletico Madrid knock out Inter Milan on penalties to reach Champions League quarter-finals

MADRID – Diego Simeone has been coaching Atletico Madrid since 2011, but the Argentinian still finds it hard to watch his team in a penalty shoot-out.

The 53-year-old admitted that he was not able to witness their “emotional” win over Inter Milan on spot kicks in their Champions League last-16, second-leg clash on March 13.

“I didn’t watch,” Simeone told Movistar when asked about the shoot-out. “It’s not good for me to watch, I decided not to... (Goalkeeper) Jan (Oblak) deserves it. It’s always been hard for us with penalties.”

Atletico famously lost the 2016 Champions League final on penalties to rivals Real Madrid in Milan.

“I was just looking at the images of the fans on the TV, and it was emotional,” Simeone added.

“When the team is like it was today, the hope grows, and we generate that excitement. We’re among the eight best (teams) in Europe once more, that says a lot about the club.”

Atletico headed into the match trailing 1-0 on aggregate but won 2-1 to take the game into extra time and penalties. They then triumphed 3-2 in the shoot-out to reach the quarter-finals.

The Spanish side had looked dead and buried when Inter defender Federico Dimarco pushed home the visitors’ opener at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid.

But Antoine Griezmann immediately pulled the hosts level on the night and, three minutes before the end of the regulation 90 minutes, substitute Memphis Depay took the tie to extra time at 2-2 with a low finish.

That set up the decisive shoot-out which ended with Inter missing three of their five penalties, star striker Lautaro Martinez handing passage to the last eight to Atletico when his kick went way off target.

“I think penalties are a lottery. Today luckily I stopped two,” said Atletico goalkeeper Oblak, who saved from Alexis Sanchez and Davy Klaassen.

“It’s not easy to stop a penalty. Sometimes it looks easy from the outside but it’s not.

“I’m very, very happy for the team because I think we did a great match. We played well. Maybe in the last month we’ve not been in great shape but we showed we can do much more.”

The two teams could barely have come into the match in more contrasting form. Inter had won 13 matches on the bounce since the start of 2024, while Atletico had won only one of their last five.

However, it was an even and exciting contest in the Spanish capital where Atletico pushed hard and both sides created a clutch of opportunities.

Home advantage turned out to be crucial for Atletico, who have won 19 of their 21 fixtures at the Metropolitano in all competitions.

Simeone’s men are also unbeaten in 17 home knockout matches in the Champions League and, in front of a passionate crowd, they fought back from an impossible-looking position against the runaway Serie A leaders.

Simone Inzaghi’s Inter now turn their attention back to winning their 20th Italian top-flight title while Atletico await the draw for the last eight in Nyon on March 15.

“Once we went ahead we needed to be better, those three to four minutes in order to maintain that advantage Dimarco gave us,” lamented the Italian coach.

“At that moment the match seemed in our hands but instead they got back into the game.”

Inter, who wasted a series of opportunities to earn a bigger first-leg advantage, are 16 points clear of AC Milan with 10 league matches remaining and Inzaghi looks set to win his first Serie A title as a coach. AFP, REUTERS