Morata and Paulista added to Atletico Madrid squad for Champions League game at Inter Milan
Atletico Madrid's team players celebrate after Marcos Llorente scored their side's first goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. Credit: AP/Bernat Armangue
MADRID — Striker Álvaro Morata and defender Gabriel Paulista have been included in Atletico Madrid's squad for the Champions League game against Inter Milan after recovering from injuries.
They were named on Monday, a day before the match in Italy in the first leg of the round of 16.
Morata had been nursing a knee injury that kept him from playing on Saturday in the 5-0 rout of Las Palmas in the Spanish league. Paulista was dealing with abdominal problems and also didn't play in the match at Metropolitano Stadium.
Still unavailable for coach Diego Simeone because of injuries were midfielder Thomas Lemar and defender César Azpilicueta.
Simeone and Inter coach Simone Inzaghi were teammates at Lazio when the Italian club won the 1999 UEFA Super Cup.
“It will be a great pleasure to see Diego Simeone again tomorrow as an opponent,” Inzaghi said on Monday. "He was a fantastic teammate, and I always knew he would make a great coach. We have always stayed in touch.”
Simeone played for Inter before joining Lazio, helping Inter win the 1998 UEFA Cup.
The Argentine coach called Inter “one of the four of five best teams in Europe” at the moment.
The return Champions League match against Inter is on March 13.
