MADRID (AP) – With tears in his eyes, Diego Simeone looked at Atletico Madrid fans celebrating in the stands at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Minutes earlier, the coach had been walking up and down the sidelines and was unable to watch the tense penalty shootout that saw Atletico beat Inter Milan and advance to the Champions League quarter-finals.
On Wednesday, Atlético scored the winning goal late in regulation before beating Inter 3-2 on penalties, with Jan Oblak making two saves and Lautaro Martinez sending a shot over the crossbar.
“It was emotional,” Simeone said. “I'm happy for the players and for the fans. We're in the top eight teams in Europe again. That says a lot about this club.”
Oblak saved penalties from Alexis Sanchez and Davey Claasen, but Martinez missed the deciding kick for last year's European runners-up.
“Ultimately, gunfights are all about luck,” Oblak said. “Because you have to choose the right side and stop. If a player takes a perfect kick, it's impossible to stop it. Fortunately, we were able to save. Winning is what matters. That's why we were able to advance to the quarterfinals.”
Memphis Depay, Rodrygo Riquelme and Angel Correa converted penalties for Atlético, while Saul Gyguez's shot was saved by Inter goalkeeper Jan Sommer. Hakan Calhanoglu and Francesco Acerbi scored for the visitors in the penalty shootout.
Depay scored in the 87th minute for Atlético, who came back from a 1-0 loss in the first leg to give Simeone's side a 2-1 victory in regulation.
Atlético failed to make it past the group stage last season and were eliminated by Manchester City in the last eight of the 2021-22 season.
Inter, who lost to Man City in last year's final, arrived at the Metropolitano Stadium on a 13-game winning streak. They haven't lost 15 games in a row in all competitions, and won every game in 2024.
“We have to be proud of what we did in this Champions League,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. “We should have done better in the second half. We had more energy in extra time, but unfortunately we made too many mistakes.”
Inter took the lead in regulation with Federico Dimarco's goal in the 33rd minute, but Atlético equalized two minutes later with a goal from Antoine Griezmann, who returned from injury.
In Wednesday's other Champions League match, Borussia Dortmund defeated PSV Eindhoven 2-0 at home to move up 3-1 on aggregate.
The eight teams participating in the quarter-final draw are Atlético, Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Arsenal and Barcelona.
In the exhibition match held at the Metropolitano Stadium, Atlético pushed forward from the start, with Inter threatening to counterattack.
The hosts dominated the final stages of the match, creating several chances before Depay smashed home the late winner with a low shot from inside the area after some excellent set-up from midfielder Koke Resurreción.
Inter extended their lead in the 33rd minute of the first leg when Dimarco received a pass from Nicolo Barella and fired in a low shot from the center of the area.
However, it didn't take long for Atlético to respond and they leveled the score minutes later with Griezmann picking up a loose ball inside the area.
Griezmann sprained his ankle in the first leg in Italy three weeks ago but was aiming to make a comeback. The French forward has been a key player for Atletico this season, but he has failed to score in eight consecutive games in all competitions.
Barella had a chance to add Inter's second goal in the 82nd minute when he broke through, but was forced into a weak shot in a one-on-one situation with Oblak. Depay hit the post in the 85th minute, minutes after coming off the bench to replace Alvaro Morata.
Riquelme almost sealed victory for Atletico three minutes into stoppage time, but his shot from near the penalty spot went over the crossbar. After the ball went over the net, Simeone fell to the ground.
Atlético entered the competition with an impressive home record, but have won just two of their last nine competitive games.
The Champions League is Atlético's last realistic chance of winning the title this season. They were eliminated in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and are currently in 4th place in the Spanish league, 14 points behind leaders Real Madrid.
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