Inter started the brightest, with a pattern of possessional dominance for the Italians quickly emerging, accentuated by a few turnovers occurring from their high press.
A heavy touch from Marcus Thuram denied him the chance to make the most of a wicked ball across the goalface from Nicolo Barella. While a couple of lazy passes in quick succession from Henrikh Mkhitaryan squandered further promising moves from Inter.
A similar opportunity came and went, purely because a delightful Lautaro Martinez knockdown fell to Stefan de Vrij, of all people, who’d marauded forward a long way away from the CB position!
There was a seamless fluidity to the passing and movements of Inter, yet not many clear-cut chances to show the fruits of their labour. In part because, while Atletico struggled to stay on the ball for extended periods of time, they were not making any defensive mistakes for Inter to exploit. Perhaps an unsurprising impenetrability, given the regimented organisation that’s become a trope for Diego Simeone sides, throughout his storied and lengthy spell at Atletico.
The first shot on target for Inter came from another well-timed delivery from Barella, which Martinez connected well with, but couldn’t quite direct his header into the bottom right corner of the goal. Martinez was immediately denied again, a scuffed shot in truth, deflected away for a corner by Jose Maria Gimenez.
A fantastic interchange of passes from one side of the pitch to the other from Inter culminated in a disappointingly over-cooked effort from Marko Arnautovic, who’d come on at half time for the injured, Thuram. It would have been an absolutely phenomenal team goal from the Italians. A testament to their confidence to play out from the back, and to also be ambitious and fast-paced with their passing.
A rare foray into the Inter box from Atletico saw a miscued shot from Samuel Lino, who had no excuse for not finding the target from the position he found himself in.
Arnautovic wasted another glorious opportunity for Inter from close-range, after a tidy one-two with Martinez.
A slip-up in possession from Atletico left Martinez with a chance to run at goal. Oblak saved well but could only parry the ball wide to Arnautovic, who snuck in a shot from a tight angle, which Atleti’s Lino on the post couldn’t quite clear off the line. A goal, which proved to be the ultimate match-winner, long overdue for the sheer pressure exerted by Inter throughout the first leg. And a welcome redemption for Arnautovic, after a spate of earlier, missed chances.
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