Sunday, October 30, 2022

Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo

First Half Continues

15' | Restart

Inter kicked off after the goal with urgency written across their body language, and immediately their approach shifted from patient buildup to faster circulation because trailing at the Gewiss Stadium meant they couldn't afford to sit deep and wait for opportunities that might never arrive.

Lautaro Martínez tapped the ball backward to Brozović who played it quickly to Barella on the right, and the Italian midfielder drove forward with intent while Atalanta's defensive shape scrambled to reorganize after their celebration.

Barella's pass found Dumfries pushing high on the wing, and the Dutchman's first touch took him toward the byline before Mæhle recovered to close the angle, and when Dumfries crossed toward the penalty area Djimsiti headed clear without difficulty.

The ball broke to De Roon who controlled it calmly before playing it back to Musso, and Atalanta reset their defensive structure while Inter's players pushed higher up the pitch than they had during the opening fifteen minutes.

Commentary

"Inter forced to be more adventurous now," the lead commentator observed. "They're pressing higher, committing more bodies forward. That's exactly what Atalanta want—space to exploit on the counter."

"Dangerous game from Inter. Push too high and Atalanta's pace in transition will punish them. Sit too deep and they'll never get back into this match."

***

16' - 22' |

The second goal started at the 18th minute when Inter's aggressive pressing created exactly the vulnerability the commentators had warned about.

Bastoni stepped high to challenge Malinovskyi near the halfway line as the Ukrainian winger tried to receive a pass from Hateboer, and the tackle was clean but the clearance wasn't controlled—the ball broke loose into midfield rather than finding a teammate—and suddenly both teams converged on the second ball simultaneously.

Koopmeiners arrived first and headed it forward toward Demien's general area, and the ball dropped awkwardly between three players—Demien, Bolu, and Çalhanoğlu who had tracked back to help defend—and all three went for it with equal determination.

Demien controlled it first with his chest while his back was turned toward Inter's goal, and immediately he felt Bolu's presence behind him—tight marking, physical contact, pressure designed to prevent any comfortable turn.

Bolu committed.

His body weight pressed forward aggressively because his job was winning this duel before Demien could create anything dangerous, and his hands went to Demien's waist to establish physical control while his legs positioned to intercept any attempted turn.

But Demien didn't try to spin away.

Instead he absorbed the contact completely—Claudio Marchisio: Balanced Engine activated and his body stayed balanced despite Bolu's pressure—and rather than fighting against the challenge he rolled through it by shifting his weight and using Bolu's momentum against him.

The movement was subtle but effective because suddenly Bolu was half a step out of position, and Çalhanoğlu saw the danger developing and stepped out from his deeper position to provide secondary pressure.

Two Inter midfielders now committed to stopping one Atalanta player.

Demien's next touch came instantly—Heel-to-Heel Flick executed with both feet in quick succession—and the ball popped through the narrow gap between Bolu and Çalhanoğlu before either could react, and Demien's body followed through the same space while both defenders lunged backward desperately.

He was through.

Three yards of separation. Five yards. The penalty area approaching.

Inter's center-backs Acerbi and De Vrij both shouted instructions while trying to close the angle, but they couldn't commit too aggressively because Højlund was lurking centrally and any gap would be exploited immediately.

Demien didn't rush.

His composure stat—now 86 after last night's upgrades—kept his decision-making crystal clear despite the pressure and the noise and the defenders closing, and he saw exactly where Onana was positioned and exactly where the finish needed to go.

One more touch to set his feet.

Right foot struck cleanly, low and hard, aimed toward the far post.

The shot flew across the six-yard box while Onana dove desperately with his left hand extended, but the placement was perfect and the ball buried itself in the side netting before the goalkeeper's fingers could reach it.

2-0.

The Gewiss Stadium erupted louder than before because this wasn't a team goal created by clever circulation—this was individual brilliance destroying Inter's defensive organization through pure skill and composure.

Demien didn't celebrate extravagantly.

He clenched his right fist once while his jaw set tight, and his teammates sprinted toward him with arms raised but he was already turning to jog back toward the center circle because the match wasn't over and maintaining focus mattered more than extended celebration.

Commentary

"WHAT A GOAL! Demien Walter makes it two-nil!"

"That's composure under extreme pressure. Two defenders closing, penalty area congested, but he waited for the moment to come to him rather than forcing it. The heel-to-heel flick to create separation was brilliant, but the finish—that's what separates good players from special ones."

"Inter are in serious trouble now. Twenty minutes played, two goals down at the Gewiss Stadium, and their midfield has been completely overrun."

Near the center circle, Bolu Marino dropped to one knee briefly while his hands pressed against the grass, and his head hung forward for three full seconds before he forced himself to stand and clapped his hands once though the sound came out hollow and his eyes scanned the pitch without finding anything to focus on.

His shoulders had dropped fractionally from their starting position, and his jaw worked side to side while he walked back toward his defensive position.

***

23' - 24' |

Inter tried to respond immediately after the restart because trailing by two goals with sixty-five minutes remaining meant urgency was necessary even if it created defensive vulnerabilities.

Brozović received from De Vrij and drove forward with purpose, and his pass found Barella who had pushed high into Atalanta's half, but Koopmeiners tracked the run perfectly and forced Barella wide where the angle was less dangerous.

Barella's cross came in with pace toward the penalty area where Lautaro Martínez had made a run between Atalanta's center-backs, but Djimsiti read it perfectly and headed clear while the Argentine protested for a push that the referee ignored.

The ball broke to Mæhle who played it quickly to De Roon, and Atalanta circulated backward to reset their shape because protecting the two-goal lead mattered more than immediately countering.

***

25' - 31' |

The third goal started at the 27th minute, and it began with Inter's own corner kick that should have been their best opportunity to create pressure.

Çalhanoğlu stood over the ball on the right corner while Inter's tallest players crowded Atalanta's six-yard box—Acerbi, De Vrij, Bastoni all pushing forward—and when the corner came in it was delivered with good pace toward the near post.

But Tolói attacked it aggressively and headed clear with power that sent the ball flying back past the halfway line, and suddenly the transition was on because Inter had committed so many bodies forward that their defensive coverage was minimal.

The ball dropped thirty yards from Inter's goal in an area where normally Bolu would be positioned to win the second ball and kill the counter-attack, but he was five yards out of position because he'd pushed too high trying to support the corner.

Demien saw it immediately.

N'Golo Kanté: Everywhere at Once activated and his reaction speed—boosted by last night's +3 to reactions—allowed him to read where the clearance would land before it actually arrived, and he sprinted toward the dropping ball while Brozović scrambled to recover but was three steps too slow.

Demien won the duel cleanly with his chest controlling the clearance, and his first touch took him forward while Inter's defensive shape was completely disorganized—two center-backs still in Atalanta's penalty area, fullbacks caught too high, only Brozović and one center-back actually in defensive positions.

Lookman had already started his run down the left channel anticipating the transition, and Demien's pass found him immediately with a sharp vertical ball that split the space between Inter's right-back Dumfries and center-back Acerbi.

Lookman's pace took him clear of Acerbi's attempted recovery, and he drove toward the penalty area while Onana rushed off his line, but instead of shooting Lookman cut the ball back square across the six-yard box where Demien had continued his run.

The pass arrived perfectly.

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