Atletico Madrid - Inter (13 Mar 24) [2-1]

[#NotForMe]

OMG all these weird fucks and haters are back LOL; waited for this for so long huh?
In some ways you guys make it more fun and colorful.

 

[Gal]

Lol, what are you even talking about?
Even outside the top 3 (Atleti, Real and Barca) they have good teams constantly rotating for the 4th spot and winning European cups.

Money is not everything. We finished second (And deservedly so) to a team based solely on their home grown talents ffs.

Math is clearly not your strong suit

 

[Ethor]

Even Georgia is confused and depressed by Inter's performance.

 

[thatdude]

The most annoying thing is that this Atletico team really isn’t elite. Sure they have a great home record but they lost to Athletic in both legs just a few weeks ago. They really aren’t great defensively and struggle building out of the back.

How many times did they pass the ball to us in a dangerous position across both legs? If Mkhi just passed the ball to someone in an Inter shirt we could have created many more dangerous situations.

Not trying to pick on him but this is where we see our limitations. A team with a bit more money has another Barella in midfield, not an overly exhausted and overplayed 35 year old. He was a weak link in the chain today. And it’s not the first time.

 

[Gal]

PSG is the only strong team from 2nd spots and ATM is the least tough pick from 1st. Take your probability.

And you know the group top is getting the home second advantage, right?

first of all lets say we won the group, we could not draw 3 of the teams there (Napoli, Lazio & Socidad) That would have left us with Porto, PSG, FCK, PSV, Leipzig.

PSG, Porto and Leipzig would have been no easier and Porto showed how tough they are to play against they basically nearly knocked out EPL leaders in Arsenal, Real just barely got past Leipzig, finally PSG made short process of Socidad. There were really only two draws that likely would have made as through with high probability FCK and PSV. The easiest in the draw we ended in was Dortmund and Atl Madrid by the way. Realistically if you can’t beat them you have no place in the tournament and you would just be knocked out the round after anyway

 

[Dave54]

The most annoying thing is that this Atletico team really isn’t elite. Sure they have a great home record but they lost to Athletic in both legs just a few weeks ago. They really aren’t great defensively and struggle building out of the back.

How many times did they pass the ball to us in a dangerous position across both legs? If Mkhi just passed the ball to someone in an Inter shirt we could have created many more dangerous situations.

Not trying to pick on him but this is where we see our limitations. A team with a bit more money has another Barella in midfield, not an overly exhausted and overplayed 35 year old. He was a weak link in the chain today. And it’s not the first time.

So you ignore Pavard’s mistake, 2 100 percent chances, horrible penalty takers, but Miki was the weakest link, while Miki-Barella- Dimarco resulted in the first goal.

 

[Irequis]

First of all, we prioritize Serie A for this season. When I say "we", it means Inter squad and Interisti including FIFers. It seems unlikely to choke on our Scudetto this season so the mission is almost accomplished. We should not consider our season as failure regardless of the results in UCL and Coppa. If anything, we could cruise easily in the league because we occasionally played rotational players in both competitions.

Be that as it may, this loss hurts. Atleti really deserves this win when we take into account everything. It is really difficult to type those words, but that is the fact. They won the group while we were second thanks to the backup teams against Benfica and Sociedad. Their performances over 2 legs were more superior than us. Compare how many dangerous chances they created. For all the lamentations to Arnautovic, Barella, and Thuram's profligacy, they also created equally (if not more) high-probability chances. Compare how their players did not fold under pressure while we made one season worth of individual mistakes in this match alone.

It is painful because we were provided several opportunities to steal the victory. Somebody should check the goal's dimension in our training facilities because our players seem to shoot on the tripled-size goal and never practiced one on one with goalkeeper. Anyway, wastefulness is our weakness for already 2 seasons and we do not address it properly. Sooner or later it will bite us and here it comes now.

 

[PHM1605]

first of all lets say we won the group, we could not draw 3 of the teams there (Napoli, Lazio & Socidad) That would have left us with Porto, PSG, FCK, PSV, Leipzig.

PSG, Porto and Leipzig would have been no easier and Porto showed how tough they are to play against they basically nearly knocked out EPL leaders in Arsenal, Real just barely got past Leipzig, finally PSG made short process of Socidad. There were really only two draws that likely would have made as through with high probability FCK and PSV. The easiest in the draw we ended in was Dortmund and Atl Madrid by the way. Realistically if you can’t beat them you have no place in the tournament and you would just be knocked out the round after anyway

I reply in the post below. Our aim isn't winning CL-the-title anytime soon, despite some fans claim "top 3 in the world". But surviving the longer the better due to our always empty pocket. Huge difference.

Should have written it clearer. "The reason of not passing round-16", not "the reason of our elimination by ATM". We shouldn't have faced them in the first place.

Btw why are you describing how closed the wins are here? The topper qualifies = they are stronger. Period. Ofc CL there should be no big gaps but they are still objectively stronger.

 

[ADRossi]

So you ignore Pavard’s mistake, 2 100 percent chances, horrible penalty takers, but Miki was the weakest link, while Miki-Barella- Dimarco resulted in the first goal.

Hard to argue that Mkhitaryan wasn't our worst midfielder today. Barella was exceptional and Hakan was better defensively. I don't think we lost this match in the midfield, though.

Pavard, Thuram, and Lautaro were the worst performers on the pitch. Toothless in attack and mistake prone at the back.

 

[Kramerica Industries]

This precisely. People were crying last year that we lost scudetto despite making it to CL final saying that they didn't give a fuck about CL if we can't win it. This is why I hate when people move the goal post, the objective was always to win the Scudetto and Inzaghi has done exactly that. Maybe if we had done better in group stage we wouldnt be this comfotable in serie A.

Going far in CL was just the cherry on top, unfortunately the cherry fell today but to me the season is still a success.

Obviously everything bad seems worse in its immediacy because all the mistakes and missed chances that resulted in it are super fresh in our minds.

You are right, winning the Scudetto alone makes this season a success. I might argue that any season with the Scudetto and the Scudetto alone is a success; only one team can be European champions after all. There will be at least three league winners from England, Spain, Italy, and Germany who don't win the Champions League in a given season, many times even 4/4 fail to do so.

But I don't think expectations should ever be seen in a static lens either. Goal post shifting isn't necessarily a terrible thing, it's just a terrible thing when it's used to make disingenuous arguments. Back in August, would we have taken any CL result if it came packaged with the Scudetto? Yes. After all, in our last Scudetto-winning campaign we finished dead last in the group stage (blessing in disguise as it turned out since it cleared our schedule). But that was back in August, when we weren't the defending Italian champions, when it figured there were at least three other contenders for the throne, and we were coming off a very inconsistent Serie A campaign with a manager who had shown cup success but not league success with us.

Fast forward to today, and we were the team with the best goal difference in the top European leagues, best points tally, largest lead at the top of the table. Do I think it's fair to say that in that time expectations in the Champions League could evolve? Do I think it's fair to say we should've been expected to see out a 2-0 aggregate lead once we got it with 55 minutes to play today? I would say yes to both of those. We can consider the season overall a success in the end once we put that second star on our shirt and beat the cousins to the draw, but given how successful our domestic campaign has been, I would say that only makes the way we exited Europe this season a failure. Do I think we win the Champions League? Manchester City still stood in the way, Real Madrid is always dangerous especially if they find form again, Bayern suddenly have their goal scoring boots on again, it would've been very difficult, but it's the Champions League, it's supposed to be tough to win it. (Fuck me if Atleti draw Dortmund on Friday and it turns out we had a passable road to the semifinal.) And in our biggest challenge, with a 2-0 agg lead, we couldn't see it through. The team who hadn't conceded a goal in the 75-90 minute portion of the game all season couldn't see out that portion of the game in the biggest game of the season, after spurning two gilt-edged counterattack chances preceding it.

I feel like you probably don't disagree with me so please don't take it with that kind of tone. Of course a lot my writing is because I'm angry in general. But I do think it was fair for expectations - or at least reasonable hopes - to evolve as the season evolved and we looked like one of the very best teams in Europe. Capitulating today felt like getting hit in the chest with a baseball bat.

 

[Dave54]

For me worse were Thuram, Pavard, Lautaro. Sanchez, Klassen and then Miki. In that order.

 

[arax]

With this early exit, I wonder if it would effect our next season transfer strategy. Since we will not receive more money and management could feel that the player don't deserve higher salary with this kind of performance

 

[Kramerica Industries]

The most annoying thing is that this Atletico team really isn’t elite. Sure they have a great home record but they lost to Athletic in both legs just a few weeks ago. They really aren’t great defensively and struggle building out of the back.

How many times did they pass the ball to us in a dangerous position across both legs? If Mkhi just passed the ball to someone in an Inter shirt we could have created many more dangerous situations.

Not trying to pick on him but this is where we see our limitations. A team with a bit more money has another Barella in midfield, not an overly exhausted and overplayed 35 year old. He was a weak link in the chain today. And it’s not the first time.

This is where I have to give some credit to Alexis and (of all people taking the responsibility) Bisseck as extra time went on. It felt like everybody else was playing so passive, safe passes and not trying to break the lines. Only those two I mentioned either seemed to be looking to make a line breaking pass, or making a run down the touchline to try and play a cross or a cutback. Fair play to them, but that's not something that should fall on Bisseck's shoulders (speaks to his mentality that he didn't shy away from it).

I dare say the word, but it damn near felt like Inzaghi thought we could just catenaccio our way through this game, and that was shockingly naïve to think so.

 

[Kramerica Industries]

Hard to argue that Mkhitaryan wasn't our worst midfielder today. Barella was exceptional and Hakan was better defensively. I don't think we lost this match in the midfield, though.

Pavard, Thuram, and Lautaro were the worst performers on the pitch. Toothless in attack and mistake prone at the back.

I'd add De Vrij to that list too, and I was shocked he wasn't subbed at HT. Thought he had a miserable day out there.

 

[brakbrak]

Obviously everything bad seems worse in its immediacy because all the mistakes and missed chances that resulted in it are super fresh in our minds.

You are right, winning the Scudetto alone makes this season a success. I might argue that any season with the Scudetto and the Scudetto alone is a success; only one team can be European champions after all. There will be at least three league winners from England, Spain, Italy, and Germany who don't win the Champions League in a given season, many times even 4/4 fail to do so.

But I don't think expectations should ever be seen in a static lens either. Goal post shifting isn't necessarily a terrible thing, it's just a terrible thing when it's used to make disingenuous arguments. Back in August, would we have taken any CL result if it came packaged with the Scudetto? Yes. After all, in our last Scudetto-winning campaign we finished dead last in the group stage (blessing in disguise as it turned out since it cleared our schedule). But that was back in August, when we weren't the defending Italian champions, when it figured there were at least three other contenders for the throne, and we were coming off a very inconsistent Serie A campaign with a manager who had shown cup success but not league success with us.

Fast forward to today, and we were the team with the best goal difference in the top European leagues, best points tally, largest lead at the top of the table. Do I think it's fair to say that in that time expectations in the Champions League could evolve? Do I think it's fair to say we should've been expected to see out a 2-0 aggregate lead once we got it with 55 minutes to play today? I would say yes to both of those. We can consider the season overall a success in the end once we put that second star on our shirt and beat the cousins to the draw, but given how successful our domestic campaign has been, I would say that only makes the way we exited Europe this season a failure. Do I think we win the Champions League? Manchester City still stood in the way, Real Madrid is always dangerous especially if they find form again, Bayern suddenly have their goal scoring boots on again, it would've been very difficult, but it's the Champions League, it's supposed to be tough to win it. (Fuck me if Atleti draw Dortmund on Friday and it turns out we had a passable road to the semifinal.) And in our biggest challenge, with a 2-0 agg lead, we couldn't see it through. The team who hadn't conceded a goal in the 75-90 minute portion of the game all season couldn't see out that portion of the game in the biggest game of the season, after spurning two gilt-edged counterattack chances preceding it.

I feel like you probably don't disagree with me so please don't take it with that kind of tone. Of course a lot my writing is because I'm angry in general. But I do think it was fair for expectations - or at least reasonable hopes - to evolve as the season evolved and we looked like one of the very best teams in Europe. Capitulating today felt like getting hit in the chest with a baseball bat.

I agree with everything you write 100%. My point was that I agreed with Glassbox point that it's ridiculous to cry about what could have been done in the group stage where we almost went through today. As you said, we had a 2-0 lead and we should have been able to see it through. Getting angry about today's performance is reasonable as I am too and I called out Simone for getting played by Simeone today.

I still see it as a positive thing as you can't always go to the final every single year. All I know is Inzaghi has consistently brought us out of the group stage every single year he's been with us when the so called "great" Conte couldn't and now we are winning Scudetto in convincing manner. As long as we can keep our key players, I believe we can only get better.

 

[Dave54]

I'd add De Vrij to that list too, and I was shocked he wasn't subbed at HT. Thought he had a miserable day out there.

Dumfries as well.

 

[thatdude]

So you ignore Pavard’s mistake, 2 100 percent chances, horrible penalty takers, but Miki was the weakest link, while Miki-Barella- Dimarco resulted in the first goal.

You’re misunderstanding my post. I commented on the poor game of Pavard already in his thread. My point is about the squad. This was Pavard’s first really poor performance. Mkhi has been struggling for a while and it’s not the first time he’s had a stinker in a big game recently. We only need to look as far as the first leg.

That tells you the level isn’t high enough. He’s been over played and it’s starting to show. It’s understandable because he runs the most and he’s 35. A team with more money would have a back up that isn't Klaassen or another player in their prime starting. They wouldn’t need to run an aging player into the ground to the point he can’t make simple passes in the midfield.

 

[Dave54]

Well, Zielinski would be here next year and hope Frattesi gets better at pressing and carrying the ball. Get rid of Klassen and get another mid.

 

[Kramerica Industries]

You’re misunderstanding my post. I commented on the poor game of Pavard already in his thread. My point is about the squad. This was Pavard’s first really poor performance. Mkhi has been struggling for a while and it’s not the first time he’s had a stinker in a big game recently. We only need to look as far as the first leg.

That tells you the level isn’t high enough. He’s been over played and it’s starting to show. It’s understandable because he runs the most and he’s 35. A team with more money would have a back up that isn't Klaassen or another player in their prime starting. They wouldn’t need to run an aging player into the ground to the point he can’t make simple passes in the midfield.

We've been pretty fortunate with regard to overall health this year, which is a big part of the reason we've run away with the Scudetto. Our midfield and especially attack depth is entirely substandard. We need A LOT of work there and...oh shit, we're broke, n/m.

 

[Dave54]

in all honesty, Correa is better than Klassen.