José María Giménez saves Atlético de Madrid with a late game-winner header

Atlético de Madrid was heading for a draw that would have felt like a missed opportunity, until a set piece came to the rescue. José María Giménez met Antoine Griezmann’s corner in the 93rd minute and headed home the 2-1 winner against Inter Milan at the Metropolitano.

Inter arrived with a spotless European record and started like a team determined to keep it. Federico Dimarco forced a sharp second-minute save from Juan Musso (starting in place of the injured Jan Oblak), and the visitors’ wing-backs immediately tested Atlético’s spacing. The locals' response was classic Simeone: park the bus, compress the middle, and sprint into the channels when space appeared.

The opening goal came from a sequence that was equal parts intention and accident. Giuliano Simeone whipped in a cross from the right, Inter failed to clear it, and the ball ricocheted into the path of Julián Álvarez, who finished from close range in the first 10 minutes of the game. The referee initially disallowed it for a supposed handball by Álex Baena, but VAR intervened, and the goal stood.

Atlético didn’t dominate after going ahead. Instead, Inter had the cleaner possession, and the locals had a grittier plan: block lanes, win second balls, and try to break with speed rather than artistry. Musso stayed alert, and Giménez organized the defense line through the kind of shifts that barely make highlight packages but decide European nights.

That’s how the game went into half-time. That doesn’t mean the stadium came to a rest. Inside the locker rooms, both Simeone and Chivu had to make the needed changes, the Argentinian to keep the result, and Nerazzurri’s coach to try to turn it around. In the meantime, the fans were singing, swapping predictions, and staying warm on a cold night; and, as they do everywhere now, plenty passed the break on their phones, checking other scores, scrolling through social feeds, or dipping into online casinos before the tension snapped back for the second half. Thanks to the stadium situation, the internet connection is quite stable, meaning that fans have no problem surfing the web and using their smartphones as they please during the break time.

The second half reset the tension. Inter hit the post soon after the restart, and in the 54th minute Piotr Zieliński carried the ball into the box from the left, combined with Ange-Yoan Bonny, and slid a finish inside the far post to make it 1-1. Atlético’s lead was gone, and the match became a nerve test.

Simeone’s side answered with changes meant to tilt the contest. Griezmann and Alexander Sørloth came on, and Atlético began spending more time in Inter territory, forcing corners and messy clearances. Chances arrived: Giuliano Simeone blazed over from close range, and Griezmann hit too straight at Yann Sommer from point-blank range.

Then Atlético found the scenario they trust most: one delivery, one decisive touch. In the third minute of added time, Griezmann bent in a corner with pace, Giménez timed his leap, and the header flashed beyond Sommer. Atlético didn’t just score: they detonated.

The winning header was a snapshot of what Simeone values in a player: concentration, timing, edge, and that clutch factor. With Oblak absent and Koke starting on the bench, Giménez wore the armband and played like a captain. He spoke afterward with unfiltered emotion, saying he struck it with “the same intensity of love” he feels for his children.

Club writers noted it was the first Atlético goal in roughly 14 months for the Uruguayan, and the timing felt symbolic: a defender ending a drought to drag a European campaign back into life.

Simeone’s assessment was equally direct. He described his center-back as “a fighter” and said, simply, that they “need him,” before explaining how Atlético’s second-half adjustments helped them spend more time in the opposition half and generate the set pieces that can decide tight games.

Inter’s frustration underlined the scale of Atlético’s steal. Inter arrived having won four straight in Europe and conceded only one goal; they looked in control, but one lapse at a corner decided it. For Simeone, it was another reminder that set pieces can win nights when open play turns into trench warfare.

Simeone, though, tried to shrink the horizon immediately. Asked about objectives, he replied: “Now we’re thinking about Oviedo.” That’s how Atlético protects the next performance. But this one belonged to Giménez: one corner, one leap, and a European night saved at the last.