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FOOTBALL – A late goal from substitute Marko Arnautovic gave Inter Milan a 1-0 home victory against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie last night.
The Austria striker, who replaced the injured Marcus Thuram at halftime, redeemed himself after several missed chances by squeezing the ball home after Lautaro Martinez’s shot was saved by goalkeeper Jan Oblak in the 79th minute.
Ahead of the interval Martinez and Thuram had opportunities to break the deadlock for Inter but faced a resilient defence, with chances either blocked or saved by Oblak.
Just after the hour mark the home crowd had expressed their frustration as Arnautovic found himself free in front of goal but sent his effort over the crossbar.
The return leg in Spain is on March 13.
Meanwhile, Donyell Malen scored a superb goal against his former side but a second-half penalty from Luuk de Jong earned a 1-1 draw for PSV Eindhoven in the first leg tie against Borussia Dortmund at the Philips Stadion.
Dutch international Malen rifled in a thunderous shot from a tight angle after 24 minutes but the home side created the better chances and finally took one when De Jong scored from a spot-kick.
That goal stretches PSV’s unbeaten home run to 31 games in all competitions and leaves the tie evenly poised with the return leg in Dortmund to come on March 13.
The match was PSV’s first Champions League knockout tie in eight seasons as they bid to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign.
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