Inter Milan will host Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday. Inter, the runners-up from the previous season, are dominating Serie A. Atleti blasted through the group stage to once again make it to the knockout stages.
Preview (Inter Milan vs. Atletico Madrid)
Inter, has demonstrated over the last two seasons that they are among Europe’s best clubs. They may consider themselves at the top of their game going into their Champions League comeback. Inter had won eight straight games to start in 2024. In the UEFA Champions League, the Nerazzurri have only lost once in their previous 13 games. That one loss came against Manchester City in the 2023 final. They have also kept eight clean sheets in that time. Simone Inzaghi’s team has seen only one major setback since placing second in Group D. They finished narrowly behind Real Sociedad. They have risen to new heights in the New Year.
After defeating Lazio and Napoli to win the Supercoppa Italiana for the third time in a row, Inter used their victory in the Derby d’Italia to put championship rivals Juventus in the rearview mirror. They then took advantage of Juve’s waning form, scoring four goals in their next two games. The Milan giants are nine points clear of Serie A after defeating bottom-of-the-table Salernitana 4-0 on Friday. Top scorer and captain Lautaro Martinez added to his already excellent goal total. The team is also one of the favorites to advance to June’s Champions League final at Wembley.
But their encounter in the knockout stages with a Spanish team, not since the 2010 semifinals, when Jose Mourinho’s team defeated Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona on their way to an incredible triple crown, is against a team that always presents a threat, in part because of the astute coaching of a former Inter midfield player.In six previous European competition knockout meetings against Italian clubs, Atletico Madrid has prevailed five times under Diego Simeone. Now, the Spanish team is looking for their sixth victory at San Siro, where they still haven’t faced Inter.
Team News
Regular wing-backs Federico Dimarco and Matteo Darmian were rested on Friday. Both should be back in Inter’s starting lineup by midweek. Meanwhile, defensive mainstay Francesco Acerbi may be able to recover from a calf injury. Juan Cuadrado, was left out of Simone Inzaghi’s Champions League squad following Achilles tendon surgery. He is the lone player in the Nerazzurri’s medical room. Davide Frattesi was not used as a substitute in Salerno due to a thigh issue. As a result, the home team will start in the well-known 3-5-2 system, with Marcus Thuram joining Lautaro Martinez up front and Hakan Calhanoglu manning midfield.
The latter has scored 12 goals in the Champions League so far, trailing only Adriano (14) and Julio Cruz (13) on Inter’s all-time list. With his goal against Salernitana, “El Toro” also became just the third player in three consecutive seasons to score 20 Serie A goals for the team, and the first in 70 years. Diego Simeone, the manager of Atletico Madrid, will take on Inzaghi, who he won the Italian double with at Lazio in 1999–2000, despite the latter’s more extensive absence list.
Alvaro Morata was substituted out of the match against Sevilla at halftime because of a knee injury, which also prevented him from playing in Atleti’s victory over the weekend. Gabriel Paulista, Caesar Azpilicueta, and Thomas Lemar are also out. The visitors still have a number of attacking options even without Morata: Memphis Depay has six goals from his last nine appearances, Antoine Griezmann has 18% of the team’s Champions League goals to date, and Marcos Llorente and Angel Correa both scored braces against Las Palmas.
Inter Milan 1-1 Atletico Madrid
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