Borussia Mönchengladbach´s win against Shakhtar Donetsk forced Inter Milan and Real Madrid last night to get the victory in order to avoid risks of not making through into the next round. Extra pressure for both teams. The Italians could line up Lukaku this time (he was out in the first leg game) and he is a key part on Conte´s playing style. On the other side, Zidane lined up Mariano and Nacho in order to cover up Benzema and Ramos, as they are both out injured.
The Spanish central defender provoked a PK on the 7th minute thanks to a run he made inside the box. Barella was too innocent and pushed him from the back. Hazard took care of scoring it and that turned into a heavy slab for Conte´s players. His usual strategy, which consists of sending long balls to Lukaku and Lautaro did not work out.
Players like Hakimi showed signs of not being focused at all. Barella also showed a poor image unlike the one he usually shows. He was probably thinking about the mistake he made in Hazard´s PK. Neither the attacking duo were able to create offensive actions, as they were too imprecise with the ball on their feet. However, Real Madrid took over the ball and dominated the midfield through Hazard, who had freedom to move around, Modric, Ødegaard and – at the start of the buidling process, Kroos.
Arturo Vidal, whose temperament is sometimes a problem, made it even more difficult for his team to go for the comeback. He fell down inside the box after a 50/50 ball with Varane and went to the referee in order to complain about what he thought it was a clear PK. However, the English referee showed him a yellow card and the Chilean faced to him. This unnecessary action ended up with him being sent off for a double yellow card in the 33rd minute.
Later in the game, Lucas Vázquez completed his great performance with a brilliant assist to Rodrygo, who scored the goal that put the game away for Inter in the 59th minute. The ‘Nerazzurri’ couldn´t do anything but winning last night and the 0-2 with one man down and their lack of ideas were now impossible to overcome. In fact, they were unable to create any danger and their image by the end of the match was very poor.
Zidane´s players barely suffered in the last phase of the game and grab three key points to make it through. However, this score makes Inter to be almost out of the Champions League. This is a big disappointment for Conte´s squad and a boost for Madrid.
