After Tuesday’s victories from Juventus and Napoli, Wednesday brought Atalanta’s dominant win away at Eintracht — but Inter fell at the death against Atlético in Madrid.
It could have been a historic clean sweep, but the round ends with the bitter taste of Inter’s first defeat in the competition, beaten at the Wanda Metropolitano by a last-minute stoppage-time goal from Giménez. That’s the snapshot of Matchday 5 of the Champions League league phase for Italian clubs.
“Zona Cesarini gives… and Zona Cesarini takes.” If Juventus won away at Bodø/Glimt thanks to Jonathan David’s late strike, Inter collapsed in Madrid on Atlético’s final push, at the exact moment when they seemed to have regained control of a match that, early in the second half, had swung toward Simeone’s side.
A shame — because in UEFA ranking terms, finishing Matchday 5 without defeats would have been extremely valuable, especially with three wins already secured by Juve, Napoli, and Atalanta. Losing to a Spanish team stings even more, given that Spain trails Italy closely in the country ranking, with the Azzurri third and the Rojos fourth.
Inter must take responsibility for an unforgivable defensive lapse that sealed their first KO in what was their first truly high-level test of the campaign, after they had (admirably) capitalized on a remarkably favorable schedule across the opening four rounds. Wins against the worst Ajax side in its history (still on zero points after five matches), Slavia Prague, Union Saint-Gilloise, and Kairat had boosted both morale and the standings, but objectively belonged more to the level of lower-tier Europa League (or upper-tier Conference) than Champions League opposition. We had highlighted that repeatedly — while still crediting Inter for delivering on expectations — and noted that the Wanda Metropolitano clash would be the real exam against an opponent of genuine historical and technical pedigree. Unfortunately, Inter failed the test.
Still, football’s charm lies in the chance to turn the page quickly after a setback and focus immediately on what’s ahead, especially with the standings still looking more than positive thanks to earlier results.
Yet the blow in Madrid is hard to swallow because it comes just days after the huge derby disappointment. Now Chivu will need to steady the ship, managing both internal and external pressure that inevitably surfaces when results dip. The “Lautaro case,” for example, seems ready to ignite: the Argentine striker has been subbed off in the last two matches, and during the change in Madrid he did nothing to hide his frustration…
As for the others, Napoli have rediscovered the best version of McTominay — not coincidentally, their home win over Qarabag came courtesy of “a goal and a half” from the Scotsman.
Juventus hope they’ve finally unlocked the attacking potential of Openda (his first goal in black and white) and David, both crucial in the win over Bodø.
Atalanta, for their part, saw Lookman return to scoring, opening the route in La Dea’s away victory at Eintracht Frankfurt — the first win of the Padalino era, as he tries to restore the Atalanta identity shaped over the years by Gasperini after the negative Juric spell.
L’articolo Three Wins Out of Four in the Champions League, First Slip-Up for Inter proviene da Soccer Made In Italy.
