March 14 – Last year’s finalists Inter Milan have exited this year’s Champions League at the last 16 stage after losing to Atletico Madrid in a dramatic penalty shootout.
Neutral fans were given yet another penalty treat after Arsenal’s shootout victory on Tuesday night- the only two penalty shootouts the competition has seen in over five years.
Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer was unable to christen a magnificent perfomance with a win. Instead, it was Jan Oblak that hugged the headlines with a standout display, saving two penalties.
Inter defender Federico Dimarco opened the scoring to give his side a 2-0 aggregate lead, which was undone seconds later as Antoine Griezmann levelled the score on the night.
As the game progressed, Inter looked to be the dominant force but couldn’t find a second goal. Atleti striker Memphis Depay netted in the 85th minute to put both teams on level terms and eventually send the match to penalties.
In-form striker Lautaro Martinez blazed his decisive penalty over the bar, ending a Champion’s League campaign to forget for the Argentine. He has been on fire in the league and is currently the Serie A’s top goalscorer (23), but only contributed two goals in eight matches for Inter in Europe.
Despite being dumped out of Europe far sooner than expected, the Nerazurri still have something to smile about as they waltz towards the Serie A title, 16 points clear of their neighbours in red.
Elsewhere in the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund defeated PSV for the final place in the last eight.
A goal at each end of play, as loanee Jadon Sancho scored a matter of minutes into the first half to give his side a 2-1 aggregate lead, with veteran Marco Reus putting the nail in the coffin with a late goal to ease Dortmund nerves.
23-year-old Sancho looked to be back to his former self, operating as a completely different player in yellow compared to his performances at Manchester United. He scored a tidy long-range effort that nestled into the bottom left corner and lifted his side into a winning position very early on.
Marco Reus capitalised on an unfortunate slip from PSV’s Isaac Babadi in the closing minutes to guarantee BVB’s place in the last eight.
Almost every R16 matchup saw the expected winner progress to the next round, meaning that there is no ‘easy’ match remaining for any of the quarter finalists.
Impressively, three Spanish clubs (Real Madrid, Barca and Atletico Madrid) take up almost half of the quarter final spots, with two teams from England (Man City and Arsenal), two from Germany (FC Bayern and Dortmund) and one from France (PSG). Following Wednesday night’s penalty shootout drama, no Italian teams remain in the competition.
The quarter final draw will take place on Friday following the conclusion of the Europa League and Conference League round of 16 ties on Thursday evening.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1731451814labto1731451814ofdlr1731451814owedi1731451814sni@g1731451814niwe.1731451814yrrah1731451814