Atletico Madrid clinched a dramatic 2–1 win over Inter Milan thanks to a stoppage-time header from José María Giménez. Piotr Zieliński had earlier brought Inter level after Julián Álvarez’s opener was confirmed following a VAR check. Israel Schmidt de Azevedo breaks down the key tactical themes from the match.
Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan began as a very lively match. In the 2nd minute, Atletico had a good free-kick; although it lacked power, it was still a difficult ball for Musso, who made a strong save.
When defending, Atletico Madrid shifted their left centre-back into the middle and pushed the right-back inside to form a back three. Giuliano Simeone dropped from right midfield to act as a right-back. Ahead of them, a line of four formed: Gallagher moved from attacking midfield to play as a right wing-back, Barrios dropped from attacking midfield to work as a defensive midfielder next to Johnny Cardoso, and Baena came back from left midfield to act as a left wing-back. Julián Álvarez stayed furthest forward.
Inter attacked by pushing Lautaro and Bonny high against Atletico’s defence. Dimarco and Carlos Augusto advanced as wing-backs, while Zieliński and Barella operated as central midfielders, often stepping up almost like attacking midfielders. Behind them, Bastoni and Bisseck stepped out from their side centre-back positions to play as full-backs, while Çalhanoğlu dropped next to Akanji to act as a centre-back. This created a back four and helped Inter build with more quality from deep.
In the 3rd minute, the plan worked well. Akanji received the ball near the halfway line and passed to Çalhanoğlu, who turned and played a brilliant long through ball to Dimarco on the left. He drove into the box and attempted a diagonal shot, which went just wide. At times, Çalhanoğlu went forward again to overload the final third, with the centre-backs returning to their normal roles.
When Inter tried to build from defence, Bastoni and Akanji moved wide, Bisseck shifted from right centre-back to right-back, and Dimarco dropped from left wing-back to left-back. Çalhanoğlu stayed outside the box to offer a passing option, with Barella close to him on the right. Carlos Augusto and Zieliński worked as wing-backs, with Carlos Augusto staying slightly wider and Zieliński drifting centrally. Lautaro and Bonny remained high. Atletico pressed by pushing Julián Álvarez forward, with Gallagher and Barrios close behind as secondary pressers. On the wings, Giuliano Simeone and Baena pushed up, forming an advanced line of four behind Álvarez. Cardoso stayed central, with both full-backs moving closer to him as mezzali, protecting the sides while helping centrally.
The press worked, and in the 9th minute Molina took advantage of Inter’s sloppy play, winning the ball and sending it to Giuliano Simeone, who ran down the flank and delivered a low cross. It deflected off Bastoni and bounced awkwardly. Carlos Augusto slid in and kicked the ball while on the ground, and it ricocheted off Baena and fell to Julián Álvarez, who scored. The referee initially disallowed it for handball, but after VAR review the goal was given, as replays showed the ball had not touched Baena’s arm.
In the 19th minute, Dimarco collected the ball wide and played it back to Bastoni, who passed to Çalhanoğlu. He attempted a long-range shot that bounced awkwardly in front of Musso, but the goalkeeper made a difficult save.
In the 43rd minute, after a poor pass from Lautaro, Giuliano Simeone intercepted but misplayed his pass. Barella won the ball, crossed with the outside of his right foot, and found Bisseck at the far post. Bisseck immediately flicked a backheel pass to Dimarco, who had moved centrally. Dimarco cut onto his left and curled a shot just wide.
When pressing, Inter centralised Bonny and placed Lautaro and Zieliński wider behind him. Carlos Augusto and Dimarco positioned themselves wide, creating almost a line of four behind Bonny. Akanji and Çalhanoğlu alternated positions to help defend long balls with the other centre-backs.
Atletico built from the back by spreading both centre-backs and full-backs wide. Gallagher and Barrios dropped from attacking midfield to operate as central midfielders, helping progression. Ahead of them, they formed a near cross-shaped structure: Giuliano Simeone stayed central for long balls, Baena stayed wide on one side, Cardoso on the other, and Julián Álvarez remained advanced.
Defensively, Inter dropped Carlos Augusto and Dimarco into full-back roles near the box, while the centre-backs narrowed to close gaps. Barella and Zieliński widened slightly to form a line of three ahead of the defence. Lautaro and Bonny stayed further forward.
Early in the second half, in the 46th minute, Bastoni played a beautiful long ball over Atletico’s defence to Barella, who controlled it delicately and attempted a chip. It beat the goalkeeper but struck the crossbar and bounced out. In the 54th minute, Zieliński passed to Bonny, who spun and returned it to him. Zieliński received the ball in the box and, with a first-time finish from the right side, placed it into the far corner to level the match.
In the 77th minute, Koke played the ball to Giménez, who delivered a one-touch pass to Pubil. He found Simeone, who returned the ball on the run. Simeone crossed low to Griezmann, who faked his movement to wrong-foot Akanji, then shot, but Sommer saved. In the 82nd minute, Pubil struck a diagonal shot from distance. It lacked power, and Sommer saved it, but the rebound fell centrally for Griezmann.
A strong sliding challenge from Bastoni caused the ball to deflect off both of Griezmann’s legs and go wide. In the 93rd minute, Griezmann took a corner and found Giménez, who rose almost unchallenged among four or five defenders and headed past Sommer to restore Atletico’s lead in stoppage time.
The win was crucial for Atletico Madrid, who had already lost two matches in the Champions League group stage. Earning points at home is vital to stay in qualifying contention, even if it leads to a play-off before the Round of 16. For Inter Milan, the defeat caused a slight drop in position, but nothing significant in the long term. It was their first loss of the group stage, and they remain in a strong position to qualify.
Inter now face a potentially difficult home match against a Liverpool side that has struggled this season, with many things that worked last year now failing. Atletico Madrid will take on a confident PSV side coming off an impressive win at Anfield as they continue their push up the table.
Embed from Getty ImagesWritten by Israel Schmidt de Azevedo
INMR FOOTBALL 
Leave a comment