Inter Milan Win Against Atletico Madrid Marred By Poor Finishing

Inter did themselves no favours, but they won, just. The Nerazzurri take the most slender of 1-0 leads into the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid in three weeks’ time to the Spanish capital, but coach Simone Inzaghi knows that his side needs to be more clinical if they are going to forge another deep run in the competition.

The home side were undoubtedly the better of the two teams at a packed San Siro, but only managed a single goal after a missing a slew of chances over the course of the 90 minutes. Eventually, Marko Arnautović made amends for his own horrible finishing by squeezing the ball into the goal from an acute angle after Lautaro Martinez missed his umpteenth chance of the evening to give Inter the lead, yet it remains to be seen if Inzaghi’s side will come to rue those chances come the end of the second leg in Madrid.

Martinez, in particular, had one of those European nights that’s characterised his time at Inter, in that his build play was good but his finishing was subpar for this level and what ultimately holds him back from being considered world class. Inter’s No.10 missed that many chances he could’ve put the game and the tie beyond doubt by the 70th minute, but his finishing ‑ always so ruthless in Serie A ‑ let him down when it mattered most. On one occasion, a ludicrously good save from Jan Oblak denied him from a whipped header. Yet that aside, Inter’s talisman could have put made life more comfortable, and his erratic finishing gives Atletico hope.

However Inter will still be considered favourites to qualify for the quarter final. Diego Simeone’s side didn’t really provide much in terms of attacking intent (hardly surprising considering it’s a Simeone side), and defensively Inter have been very solid this season.

Yann Sommer, a summer signing from Bayern Munich, has conceded only 14 goals this season while keeping 21 clean sheets in all competitions. Benjamin Pavard, also a summer signing from Bayern, has slotted in nicely as Inzaghi’s new right-sided centre back in the back three.

The big worry for Inzaghi is the injury to Marcus Thuram who has played such a big part in Inter’s success this season. Thuram was forced off late in the first half and it’s reported that the French striker is set to miss around 20 days, and is in a race against time to be fit for the second leg. Arnautović performed well coming on in place of Thuram, but the 34-year-old was guilty of missing a guilt-edged chance after a smart give-and-go with Martinez before eventually scoring, and while technically he’s more than good enough to operate in the Champions League, he lacks the pace of Thuram to stretch defences.

Inter have been somewhat neglected when it comes to potential winners for the competition this season, especially by those in the English media, but make no mistake about it, the team who Pep Guardiola said made life incredibly difficult for them in last season’s final will once again go deep in this season’s edition. Inter are overall a better team than they were 12 months ago, and have a bit more depth off the bench this time around also.

Yet the kind of finishing they showed last night can’t be tolerated a second time or against better opponents. Should they face City again, or perhaps say Real Madrid, any and all chances need to be dispatched without asking twice.

It wasn’t their greatest performance, but the important thing is Inter won and go into the second leg with a one-goal advantage, and they still remain Serie A’s best chance of bringing back a first Champions League crown since 2010.