Atletico Madrid 2-1 Inter
Atletico Madrid went into their clash with Inter knowing that while a defeat wouldn’t quite end their hopes of qualifying in the top eight, it would put them in last-chance saloon. A perfect Nerazzurri arrived in town with reason to play freely, but were met by a hungry Colchonero side.
Inter had the early going, putting Juan Musso, in for the still injured Jan Oblak to work from set pieces. As Atletico Madrid began to break out though, they found plenty of space, with Giuliano Simeone playing two tantalising balls behind the backline towards the far post. The second was cleared by an Inter defender onto Alex Baena. The loose ball was turned in by a delighted Julian Alvarez, alone in the box.
Un lugar único.
Una afición única.pic.twitter.com/LtxtLx4cOZ
— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) November 26, 2025
Simeone junior began to make a habit of getting down the side of Alessandro Bastoni, but neither of his penalty appeals from those forays was granted. A cutback into Alvarez resulted in their only other shot of note on goal in the first half. The mobile and strong midfield trio of Conor Gallagher, Pablo Barrios and Johnny Cardoso, making his first start back from injury, were hard to surpass for the Italians too.
On one of the few occasions they did get behind, Federico Dimarco’s curling effort evaded the top corner, the best opportunity for Inter.
Diego Simeone changes shift the game
If Atletico dealt well with Inter in the first period, the Italians increased the demands on the Atletico defence early in the second. Nicolo Barella nearly uncorked a stunning goal, which skidded off the bar, but a give and go between Piotr Zielinski and Ange Bonny slipped the Polish midfielder in behind, and unlike minutes earlier with Dimarco, he slotted past Musso, who had made a good block the first time.
Shortly after, Diego Simeone made a triple substitution, bringing on Nicolas Gonzalez, Koke Resurreccion and Marc Pubill, which was followed by their best attacking period of the game. Giuliano blazed over a Matteo Ruggeri cross, while Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth and Baena kept Inter’s defence on their toes with shots.
The final stages of the match saw roles reversed from the middle third of the match, with Inter camped deep and seeking space on the break. Atletico probed and pryed at the Inter backline, with Antoine Griezmann finding the most space in the box, but unable to pull out a finish. He did have the winning assist though; curling a corner into the six-yard box, Jose Maria Gimenez rose highest, to power home a thumping header in the 93rd minute. The Metropolitano reverberated with the noise of the goal, as Gimenez and Cholo Simeone both headed for the corner with their celebrations.
Josema Gimenez kissed the badge after his dramatic last minute winner against Inter Milan. pic.twitter.com/0WhxzVdX0u
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) November 26, 2025
Simeone’s changes, which included playing winger Nico Gonzalez at left-back, were the catalyst for Atletico to put Inter on the backfoot. Just when it looked as if they were missing a blade of sharpness in the box, Gimenez was the blunt instrument to knock the door down. Los Rojiblancos move onto nine points and into 12th position going into the final three games, but there will be tremendous satisfaction in the manner they did so.
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