Atletico Madrid 0-1 Inter Milan
The final game of the ICC 2018 was between two clubs that play fantastic football in their home countries and the rest of Europe. Both Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan want to finish their preseason preparations in the best shape possible, so winning their last friendly was a must.
These two clubs are playing at equal levels, so it was hard for casual fans and dedicated punters to choose which team to support. However, Internazionale played strong defensive football and showed enough quality in the attack to upset the Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan betting tips and get away with the W.
Highlights of the game
The game began with both sides prying the opposition for weaknesses. Atletico Madrid were the ones that struck first, with the chance coming from good passing by Juanfran, Thomas Lemar and Diego Costa. Unfortunately, the former Chelsea target man wasn’t able to close down the ball as it edged out of bounds for an Internazionale goal kick.
Los Colchoneros mounted another dangerous attack from the right, almost crossing it in for a dangerous shot attempt. Fortunately, Inter’s defence was able to clear the ball. Their attack was able to mount a counter-strike in the 11th minute with Icardi getting a beautiful through pass. His shot was blocked by a rushing Jan Oblak.
Marcelo Brozovic, fresh from an unbelievable World Cup campaign, fired a long-range bullet from outside the penalty box in a display of form and confidence. But Oblak was able to spill the powerful shot and be the first one to get to the rebound.
Mauro Icardi was able to win a free kick from a dangerous position in the eighteenth minute. The free kick ended up in a cross that was cleared and was then shot over by Matteo Politano. Atletico Madrid then threatened with their wing play minutes later.
Atletico had another shot at goal after making a good break away from the high Inter backline. The defence was able to stifle the ball, forcing Costa to lightly push off a defender in the 24th minute. He protested the referee’s call in classic Costa fashion. Living up to tradition, the referee didn’t like the Spaniard all over his face and slapped him with a yellow card.
It seemed like Atletico were going to score, but a questionable foul and a quick counter saw Kwadwo Asamoah running with the ball. He dinked it to a running Lautaro Martinez. The young Argentine then jumped and kicked the ball into the net.
Inter continued to ride the momentum of their goal and pound the Europa League champions from the wings. However, Atletico Madrid refused to be pushed around and hounded the Serie A team with frantic attacks of their own.
The Atletico faithful soon found a reason to cheer loudly when their team equalised in the 43rd minute. Persistent attacks eventually saw Angel Correa shooting the ball past the keeper. However, celebrations were soon cut short as the referee took back the goal after Correa was called offside.
The second half began with Los Rojiblancos pounding the attack and trying to get an equaliser. They got chances deep in the Inter half and had superb chances with getting the equaliser. Unfortunately for them, I Nerazurri’s defence always managed to stop the development just before they were converted to goals.
La Liga‘s runners-up made many changes in their attempt to give players a shot and try to bring the team back into the game. It is here that Antoine Griezmann finally saw some action in the game. The Atletico faithful will be hoping that their talisman will be able to bring them back to this game.
The fresh legs are doing wonders for Atletico’s time with the football. They have relentlessly pounded Inter’s backline for a good couple of minutes. Inter have also attempted to secure a second goal by pushing for blitzing counters. However, the Atletico defence was able to stop the attack before the attackers managed to break away.
Madrid were almost able to secure an equaliser after a good cross from the right saw Victor Vitolo head a bullet of a ball into the net. However, Samir Handanovic refused to be one-upped by his goalkeeping compatriot at Atletico and pull off a fantastic save.
He did it again when a scramble in front of the goal saw Vitolo alone with the ball again during the game’s added time. He came off his line and pulled off a superb save.
Atletico tried everything they could, but Inter Milan will leave the Estado Wanda Metropolitano winners of a well-fought battle to become the last ICC 2018 highlights.
Key statistics
Luciano Spaletti should be proud of his men’s performance against one of the top professional clubs in Europe. While their time with the ball isn’t significantly longer than Atletico’s, they completely dominated the Europa League winners in the first half.
They were also effective on the defensive end, pulling off successful offside traps and blocking every avenue of attack for Los Colchoneros. Even Antoine Griezmann, one of France’s biggest heroes after the World Cup, was rendered silent in his second-half appearance.
What’s next?
Diego Simeone’s boys will be embroiled in a tough battle with bitter rivals and Champions League champions Real Madrid for the UEFA Super Cup. This game is in an interesting place due to a certain Thibaut Courtois. The former Atletico man is currently in an interesting situation with both sets of fans. SBOBET predictions for this match might favour Real, but Los Blancos are without their talisman in Cristiano Ronaldo.
Meanwhile, Inter will open the Serie A with an away game against Sassuolo. If Luciano Spalletti sees his men perform in the Serie A opener with the same clinical precision as this game, then they would cruise through their opponents.
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