Inter gain a vital edge
ARNAUTOVIC TURNS THE JEERS INTO CHEERS AGAINST ATLETICO
Marko Arnautovic (above) gave Inter Milan a single-goal advantage in their Champions League last-16 tie with Atletico Madrid after netting the only goal in Tuesday’s hard-fought 1-0 win.
Austria striker Arnautovic replaced Marcus Thuram at halftime and rammed home Inter’s winner with 11 minutes left at the San Siro after Jan Oblak failed to hold Lautaro Martinez’s shot.
The 34-year-old turned jeers into deafening cheers with his goal, which came after a series of missed opportunities left home fans wondering whether Inter would get the win their performance deserved.
His worst miss came just after the hour mark when he ballooned over a sitter, a dreadful finish which came before and after failed attempts to latch on to promising balls.
“It is certainly one of the most important goals of my career,” Arnautovic told Sky Sport.
“In recent weeks I’ve missed a lot of chances. But the fans and the players showed they are behind me...It gave me the energy I needed to score the goal.”
Arnautovic has had a hard time since returning to Inter on loan from Bologna last summer and those misses further frustrated supporters.
However, thanks to him Simone Inzaghi’s side, who are nine points clear at the top of Serie A, take a slender lead to Madrid where they will face Atletico in the decisive second-leg on 13 March. Atletico have been a more attacking proposition this season but retreated into the dogged defensive mode more representative of Diego Simeone’s long reign in Spain.
They could not keep Inter out and now have to overturn Tuesday’s result in order to reach the quarterfinals.
“We have to keep our heads up, there is one game left and we are going to do everything possible to get through,” Oblak told Movistar.
“They had two or three chances when we weren’t perfect and in a game like this you have to be perfect all the time.”
A cagey first half between two resolute teams left fans with little to shout about.
Thuram hurt his right thigh while taking that shot and he was replaced at half-time by match-winner Arnautovic.
Arnautovic, who has had a hard time since his return, was submerged by delighted teammates when he forced home the winner.
It was just reward for a display which highlighted why Simeone said that Inter were one of the five best teams in Europe.