Inter bowed out on PKs against Atletico Madrid after a hard-fought contest where their narrow lead was vanquished. The outcome of the shoot-out wasn’t particularly stunning. The Nerazzurri have one of the best specialists, Hakan Calhanoglu, who has yet to miss one attempt since moving to Serie A, but their other options are less than stellar.
As Il Foglio’s Giuseppe Pistore points out, Lautaro Martinez has bagged 17 out of 27 throughout his career. He has had a 50 percent rate this season. Alexis Sanchez has done even worse and has converted less than half of his tries overall, 16 out of 29. Davy Klaassen hit the net in 10 out of 16. The least experienced taker, Francesco Acerbi, was the only one to beat Jan Oblak. He had kicked just PK in his career beforehand, with Sassuolo back in 2016.
Following the early elimination, Inter will cash in a lot less prize money than last season, but it shouldn’t be a big problem. The negative result shouldn’t lead to drastic transfer market decisions or affect their pending contract negotiations.
Per Calcio e Finanza, the Nerazzurri will pocket €65,64M, considering the participation bonus, the historical ranking, the market pools, and the results. Eliminating Atletico Madrid would have fetched at least €10M more.
Inter earned €100M since they made the final last year. On the other hand, participating in the FIFA Club World Cup and the new super-sized Champions League will offset the missed income down the line.
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