Marko Arnautovic Wins It For Inter In The UCL, In Front Of Their Fans And Kanye West
Written By Onyeka Daniel
As promised, it was indeed an epic affair at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium as Inter Milan defeated Atletico Madrid by a lone goal to take a huge step towards qualifying for the next round in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage. The Nerazzurri had a special guest in the stands for this game.
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As expected, Kanye West was in attendance, accompanied by Playboi Carti and Rich The Kid. The controversial rapper Is no stranger to attending football matches in Italy and made his presence felt at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza this evening. Ye was not alone, as he brought fellow rappers Playboi Carti and Rich The Kid as part of his entourage.
They were filmed entering the luxury sky boxes in the iconic stadium, although Ye was largely disguised by his outfit. He recently featured the Curva Nord (Inter supporters) in two songs in his most recent album.
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On to the pitch, it was almost an even affair, as while Inter dominated possession, the Spanish side were trying to defend and counter attack. It was a quiet affair in the first half with Inter having some half chances, but they were unfortunate to lose one of their players to injury before the half time break. Marcus Thuram was forced off at half-time, and Marko Arnautovic replaced him before the start of the second half.
The France international was trying to finish off a promising attacking move just before the break, resulting in a Jan Oblak save, but pulled up straight afterwards and needed treatment. He held on until half-time, but was shaking his head as he walked off and it was immediately apparent he would not be able to continue.
According to Sky Sport Italia, the initial diagnosis is a twinge in the adductor of the right thigh and that will require more assessment over the next few days. It Is a blow for Inter, as Thuram has been enjoying a sensational debut season for the club since arriving as a free agent over the summer.
His father, former France, Juventus and Parma defender Lilian, was also in the stands at San Siro to cheer on his son, as he has been doing for the better part of this season.
It was his substitute, Arnautovic that decided the match in the 79th minute. The ball fell to Martinez and he ran with the ball towards the keeper and pulls the trigger from close range, buut Jan Oblak made an amazing save to stop the shot going low into the middle of the target.
But Arnautovic was on hand to score from the rebound to give his side all three points. Atletico tried to initiate a comeback, but they were met with a solid defense and they were even in the danger of conceding a second goal. With this result, Inter will be going into the second leg later next month in confidence as they look to replicate last season’s run of reaching the final.
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For the hero of the night, Arnautovic, he admitted that he was distraught after missing two sitters, but the reassurance from Inter teammates and fans ‘gave me the energy I needed. That was an incredible moment for me.’ “It is certainly one of the most important goals of my career,” Arnautovic said in a post match interview.
“This was not an easy time for me after the injury, I took a while to get back and in recent weeks I had a lot of chances where I didn’t score, and scoring goals is what I am here for. “So when I had those two chances and didn’t score this evening, goals I ought to score…. But the fans and the players all showed they are behind me. That was an incredible moment for me, it gave me the energy I needed to score the goal.”
Lautaro Martinez, Hakan Calhanoglu and others went over to reassure the veteran after the sitter that he fired over from six yards. “I think we are a fantastic group. Those who start regularly or who are on the bench, they all feel the same. Those on the bench do not let their heads drop, they come on and do what they need to do in order to win the game.”
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The second leg will be at the Wanda Metropolitano on March 13, so does Arnautovic feel Inter might regret only winning the first leg 1-0, considering Atletico Madrid did not have a single shot on target? “No, we won the game. We know that when we go to Madrid it is like 0-0 and we start again. It will be tough, but we are going there playing to win.” He further added.
For Armenian midfielder, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the team has to go for the win in the second leg. “Now there is another game to be played, so while it was nice to win, the 1-0 does not count for much,” Mkhitaryan told Mediaset Infinity in his own post match interview. “We created as many chances as possible to score, but we knew that we were up against a strong opponent that defends well.
Fortunately, we scored a goal and now go to Madrid with an advantage.” “Unfortunately, winning 1-0 means we have done nothing yet, we must go to Madrid and play as if it was still 0-0, we must play to win.” Inter reached the Champions League Final last season, losing only narrowly to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, and that further boosted their confidence. “We must do our best and continue the journey we were on last season, as we want to get back into the Final.” He said.
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