Atletico Madrid bounced back from two goals down on aggregate against Inter Milan to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with a thrilling 3-2 penalty shoot-out triumph on Wednesday.
Trailing by a single goal after last month’s first leg, Atletico looked dead and buried when Federico Dimarco pushed home Inter’s opener at the Estadio Metropolitano.
But Antoine Griezmann immediately pulled the hosts level on the night and three minutes before the end of the regulation 90 minutes substitute Memphis Depay took the tie to extra time at 2-2 with a fine low finish.
That set up the decisive shoot-out which ended with Inter missing three of their five penal-ties, star striker Lautaro Martinez handing passage to the last eight to Atletico when he booted his spot-kick way off target.
“I think penalties are a lottery. Today luckily I stopped two,” said Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who saved from Alexis Sanchez and Davy Klaas-sen.
“It’s not easy to stop a penalty. Sometimes it looks easy from the outside but it’s not.”
“I’m very, very happy for the team because I think we did a great match,” he added. “We played well.—APP
