Atlético de Madrid on Wednesday night snatched a victory from a jaws of an unhelpful draw, as Josema Giménez scored a last-second header to secure a 2-1 win over Inter Milan at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
Julián Alvarez opened the scoring on nine minutes, though a VAR review to confirm it took a while; Giuliano Simeone’s red-hot ball in had deflected off Álex Baena’s abdomen, and Alvarez lashed a left-footed shot past Yann Sommer. Piotr Zieliński arrowed home the equalizer nine minutes after halftime, punctuating Inter’s great spell to begin the second half. Giménez then popped up to score the winner, thumping Antoine Griezmann’s corner low beyond Sommer in the third minute of stoppage time.
Let’s get into some takeaways:
Johnny returns to the fold
For the first time since Aug. 30, Johnny Cardoso played for Atlético de Madrid. Surprisingly, he took Koke’s place in midfield for one of the season’s biggest games to date — and he acquitted himself well on a big stage, against last season’s Champions League finalists.
In 59 minutes, Johnny won all five of his ground duels and did not commit a foul. His stabilizing presence saw Pablo Barrios and Conor Gallagher serve as Atlético’s attack dogs in the first half; they ruthlessly hunted for the ball and harassed anyone in a blue shirt who was carrying it.
Diego Simeone was closely monitoring Johnny for signs of wear and tear; around the 30-minute mark, Johnny stayed down for a minute following a hard challenge, and El Cholo instructed fitness coach Luis Piñedo to get Koke warmed up. The skipper eventually replaced him just before the hour, but Johnny’s smooth return to the team dynamic
“Johnny hasn’t played for a long time due to his injury,” Simeone said Wednesday night. “He’s training better and doing well, which is why he played. He’s closer to providing what the team needs.”
A captain’s performance from Giménez
With K0ke starting from the bench and Jan Oblak out with an injury, it was Josema Giménez who donned the armband from kickoff (at least until Koke entered). Befitting that lofty status, Giménez scored his first Atleti goal for 14 months at the very end of this match, rising high over Manuel Akanji to head in Griezmann’s corner.
“That goal was for all my loved ones and for the people who never stopped believing in me,” Giménez said post-match. Bars.
Not only did Giménez end up with the winner; he had spent 70-plus minutes before that marking Lautaro Martínez out of the game. Lautaro was subbed off after 71 minutes having attempted three shots — two of them in the opening 10 minutes, and one of those coming in transition — and having forced Juan Musso into one save.
Giménez ended the match with six clearances, three aerial duels won from four attempts, and three ground duels won. He’s been in every matchday squad for five weeks, and Atleti have a 7-0-1 record overall when he has played this season.
Should Nico just play left-back?
Folks, Atlético de Madrid have not solved its problem at left-back.
I’ve tried to fight it. I’ve given it time. It is nearly December though and we must acknowledge it: Matteo Ruggeri is a solid defender, in the literal sense, but he just isn’t the answer (at least not yet).
But maybe Nico Gonzalez is.
Nico replaced Nahuel Molina on 59 minutes; by the 70th minute, he was playing left-back in place of Ruggeri, who had been subbed off moments before. Left-back is not an unfamiliar position for Nico — he has played there for Argentina and sparingly in that role under Simeone.
Putting Nico at left-back keeps Dávid Hancko in central defense where he belongs. But beyond simply moving pieces on the tactical chessboard, Nico offers a lot to a position that has always been vital for Simeone. He played more passes into the final third (4) in 31 minutes than the tentative Ruggeri (2) played in 68; he made almost as many recoveries (2) as Ruggeri in less than half the time. He has a guerra (that sense of battle-readiness) and a chispa (a spark, a fiery energy) that Ruggeri doesn’t.
A ninth successive home win
Atlético drew its first home game this season, 1-1 against Elche back in August.
The Rojiblancos have won every single Metropolitano match since.
Atleti have won its past five home games in the Champions League dating to last December, and Simeone’s men have an 11-0-1 record at their home stadium in European competition since the start of 2023.
The Metropolitano is a fortress. A capacity crowd of 70,460 spectators filled this stadium tonight, and the noise level rivaled Inter’s previous visit here — another 2-1 result — in March 2024.
Before the match, the Fondo Sur unfurled a tifo that read “la luz que nos guía” — “the light that guides us.” For everyone but the traveling Inter fans perched in a corner of the north stand, Atlético are that guiding light. But Atleti — winners of six in a row since last month’s humiliating loss at Arsenal — feed off this vociferous support like few, if any, other teams on this continent. Tonight just reinforced that.
