Atlético de Madrid edged out Inter on penalties to advance to the quarters, with Dortmund also through.

Atlético de Madrid, forced to win against Inter, had to wait for a penalty shootout to join PSV Eindhoven winners Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-finals.

In an evening full of suspense, Atlético de Madrid and Dortmund qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Wednesday 13 March. Forced to win after losing the first leg 1-0 to Inter, Diego Simeone’s men gave themselves a chance by winning 2-1 in regulation time, before finishing on penalties (3-2). After a 1-1 draw in the first leg in the Netherlands, BVB also came away with an impressive 2-0 win over PSV.

Without competition in the league, Inter armed themselves with a solid defensive block, hoping to contain Colconeros’ fervor. And their audience transcends. But Federico Dimarco dashed Atleti’s hopes with a remarkable inside counter-attack, which was found behind by Niccolò Barella (0-1, 33rd). Antoine Griezmann responded immediately with a key shot, well served by his captain Koke and assisted by a Benjamin Pavard error (1-1, 35th). Koke decided to give a copy and pasted pass late in the match and this time Memphis Depp passed for extra time (2-1, 87th). Efforts rewarded by a penalty shootout, mastered by the Cholo men, a low effort by Simone Inzaghi (3-2 on the tab).

Griezmann’s lucrative return

After picking up an ankle injury in the first leg, Antoine Griezmann was able to guide his team for 106 minutes, before leaving his place at the start of extra time. It’s time for him to score his sixth goal in the Champions League, which puts him level with Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé at the top of the ranking of the best C1 directors.

The Frenchman only returned to team training on Monday, but was crucial to the Madrid attack, making three key passes and two shots on target. He almost put his name on the scoreboard a second time (42nd and 53rd) or became a crucial passer for Rodrigo Riquelme who missed his shot at the end of added time (90th + 3).

In front of him stood Ian Sommer, author of Seven Saves, on Wednesday evening. The Swiss opened his show against Samuel Lino (5th), continued against Alvaro Morata (28th), then Didier Deschamps (38th, 53rd). Not done outdone, colchonero its counterpart on the side Made four saves, including an excellent double save against Marcus Thuram on Inter’s first lightning counter (13th). But Jan Oblak’s real moment came much later, when he saved penalties from Alexis Sanchez and then Davy Klaasen, allowing Angel Correa to score the winning penalty.

Dortmund were guided into the quarters by Sancho

Led by the fiery Jadon Sancho, Borussia Dortmund looked less shaky than Diego Simeone’s men against PSV. At least in the first half. The English international was responsible for opening the scoring with a whipping shot that skimmed the near post from the edge of the area (1-0, 3rd), before collecting chances alongside Donyell Malen. In front, another winger rebelled: Johan Bakayoko. The young Belgian forced BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel into a miracle (31st, 55th, 71st), before Marco Reus doubled the lead for his side, after a slip by Isaac Babadi (2- 0.90e+5) alone against Walter Benitez.