Simone Inzaghi is ready to give Marko Arnautovic more after Austria forward Marko Arnautovic redeemed himself with the winning goal in Inter Milan’s 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Competing time.
Arnautovic won the Champions League last-16 first leg tie at the San Siro after replacing the injured Marcus Thuram at half-time and will be set to play close and fast as his France team-mate recovers. Get more playing time.
The 34-year-old has had a difficult season, frustrating the home fans as he squandered a series of chances, including a horrific mistake just an hour after the hour that sent fans crazy.
“He’s been very valuable to us, as he has been so far. He and Alexis Sanchez have done a great job in terms of the way they work, the way they train and the way they relate to their teammates,” Inzaghi Tell reporters.
“He had a good game and we’re disappointed with the chances he missed but the forwards should be worried they didn’t get any chances.
“I’m a striker and sometimes I don’t have any chances and I’m always more worried than when I have a chance, I either have a great goalkeeper in front of me or I miss the goal.”
Inzaghi said he hopes Thuram is only missing for a “short period” before he undergoes tests on a game-ending thigh injury.
Diego Simeone says he is positive ahead of next month’s second leg in Madrid despite his side not having a single shot on target on Tuesday.
“Unlike recent games, we didn’t have many chances. We controlled the game for a long time, but in the second half they created more chances,” he said.
“I’m optimistic, we lost today but we still have a home game. We know what we’re going to face and how they play like we just played against them. Hopefully we can take advantage of that”.
PSV and Borussia Dortmund draw on penalties
PSV coach Peter Bosz missed chances as his side wasted a number of chances in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
“We had a lot of chances in the second half. It’s a pity we didn’t get the second goal,” Bosz told reporters after the game at Philips Stadium.
Doyle Malen scored a vital goal to earn the Bundesliga giants a draw away from his old club, but a wasteful PSV left one wondering what could have been.
The big question before the game was which team Borussia Dortmund would emerge from: the team that finished top of the Champions League’s “Group of Death” or the team that was struggling for consistency in the Bundesliga?
It was a cautious start in PSV’s intimidating atmosphere, with the home fans setting off a barrage of fireworks at kick-off.
“We started very nervously, I think both sides were nervous in the first minute,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said.
When the smoke cleared, the home side had the better of the opening encounter, with Mexico international Hirvin Lozano causing problems for Dortmund’s backline down the left.
PSV midfielder Malik Tillman missed two good chances in front of goal, one of which was deflected after a clever through ball from Dutch veteran forward Luuk de Jong.
The visitors punished PSV for their profligacy and Malen took the lead in the 24th minute when he fired a deflected shot into the top corner.
Mullen was in fine form for the Dutch giants, scoring 55 goals in all competitions in just 43 games, but he chose not to celebrate in front of the die-hard PSV fans.
The out-of-fire Tillman then managed to miss another seemingly easier goal, this time a header in front of goal.
Belgium international winger Johan Tiechel Bakayoko’s shot then went wide and the home fans began to wonder if this was going to be one of those nights as they went into the break 1-0 down.
PSV, which had not lost at home all season, started the second half with an advantage.
They leveled off quickly.
Tillman made amends for his earlier mistake by winning a penalty in the 56th minute, with De Jong calmly flicking the ball past Alexander Meyer.
Dortmund defenders were furious at the penalty, insisting veteran centre-back Mats Hummels had chipped the ball in before bringing down Tillmann.
Terzic described it as a “difficult decision” and even Bosz admitted: “You can see from the reaction of the Dortmund players that they don’t agree with this decision.”
“Zero penalties. Zero,” Hummels told Prime Video after the game.
“Tilman was laughing everywhere. Bakayoko himself was dying of laughter. After a few minutes, they were all laughing.”
The controversial equalizer opened the game with chances for both sides, with Borussia Dortmund’s Marius Wolff’s flick forcing Walter Benitez into the PSV goal. Wonderful save.
With 15 minutes left, Tiemoue Bakayoko broke through the Dortmund defence, but his effort failed to convert – summing up PSV’s night.
“I thought we were completely in control in the second half and we had big chances in the first half,” PSV midfielder Joey Wellman said.
“When you look at the whole game, we had a better chance than Dortmund,” he said, adding that “I think 1-1 is not such a bad position” to bring Dortmund back.
“We are unbeatable”
Hummels admitted his side let “the tension get to us too much” but was confident of advancing to the quarter-finals when the teams meet again in three weeks’ time.
“I saw a very competitive PSV team today. Playing at our home ground, in the second leg, we just have to play better. Then, I’m very confident that we will improve,” Hume els said.
Dortmund defender Nico Schloterback added: “We know we have the second leg to play. Then there will be 80,000 spectators on Champions League night. We are unbeatable there.”
(AFP France 24 Hours News)