Atletico Madrid’s Slovenian goalkeeper Jan makes two brilliant saves in the tie-breaker as Spaniards rally to beat Inter Milan 3-2 for quarter-final entry
Atletico Madrid's Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak stops the ball during the penalty shoot-out session during the UEFA Champions League last 16 second leg football match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Inter Milan at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid. Pic/AFP
Atletico Madrid bounced back from two goals down on aggregate against Inter Milan to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with a thrilling 3-2 penalty shoot-out triumph on Wednesday. Trailing by a goal after last month’s first leg, Atletico looked dead and buried when Federico Dimarco pushed home Inter’s opener at the Estadio Metropolitano. 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 fine low finish. In the shoot-out Inter ended up missing three of their five penalties, star striker Lautaro Martinez handing passage to the last eight to Atletico when he booted his spot-kick way off target.
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“I think penalties are a lottery. Today, luckily I stopped two,” said Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who saved against 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 happy for the team because I think we had a great match. Maybe in the last month we’ve not been in great shape, but we showed we can do much more.”
Simone Inzaghi’s Inter now turn their attentions back to winning their 20th Serie A title while Atletico await Friday’s draw for the last eight in Nyon. “Once we went ahead, we needed to be better. The match seemed in our hands, but they got back,” said Inzaghi.
Besides Atletico and Dortmund, the other quarter-finalists are Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. The draw will be held on Friday.
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