Manchester United, March 15, 2022 (AFP) – Atletico Madrid beat Manchester United 1-0 in a rematch at Old Trafford to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Brazil’s left – back Renan Lodi (41) headed in a header to Atletico, who drew 1-1 in the first leg in Madrid.
After finally reaching that level in 2020, ‘Rojiplankos’ is back in the top eight in two seasons on the continent.
Atletico de Madrid coach Diego Simeone was delighted and praised his players: “This is a common effort, I want to highlight the teamwork, the team knows what they need to do”.
Argentina midfielder Rodrigo de Ball praised his team’s attitude on the field and was thrilled with the classification: “We played a great game, when to attack, when to press, when to struggle, we’re at the next level. Very happy.”
With the away goals rule not being very valid as a tiebreaker, both teams entered the field with all or nothing.
Encouraged by their supporters, Manchester United got off to a strong start, suppressing Atletico Madrid as they struggled to shake off local pressure.
Fifteen minutes later, Anthony Elanga, England’s goalkeeper in the first leg, shot in the face, but was saved by Atletico goalkeeper John Oblock (14).
Rodrigo de Paul responded with a long shot that forced David de Kia to fly (15).
– Lodi decisive – Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo was very active on the left side where he could only resort to quick counter-attacks against Atletico United.
Manchester dominated, but could not find accuracy in the final meter, while Atletico began to ease the pressure of their own team by slowly exiting through the sidelines.
Half an hour later, Madrid’s Portuguese striker Jon பெ Felix (34) was denied a goal offside, but shortly afterwards, Atletico were able to strike back with much luck.
Felix bounces a ball to Antoine Griezmann, who lifts the ball from the right to the post, where Lodi heads in and makes it 1-0 (41).
The goal fell like a bucket of cold water on the ‘Detro Dose Sonhos’, where Bruno Fernandez almost equalized with a Oblock (45 + 2) guard shot from a distance before the break.
The ‘Rojiplanco’ goalkeeper returned to show his talent when his team needed it most.
The result excited Manchester United as they prepared to score from the break, pushing Atletico back, but struggled to find the gaps in the red and white wall.
– Opposition – The good organization of the spectators forced the ‘Red Devils’ to seek the sides, from where Jadon Sancho and Elanga appeared to cross the balls in the area.
Atletico, after a frightening attempt at high pressure, defended the aftermath, hoping to thwart the counterattack.
Diego Simeone’s team almost expanded with a long-range shot by De Paul through Harry Maguire’s error, which was rarely saved by goalkeeper De Gea (52).
United struggled with the clock and advanced further with the entry of Marcus Rashford and Fred (75) in place of Elanka (67) and Edinson Cavani, who wanted to give more firepower to their attack.
Oblak (78) deflected a header from Rafael Varane to level the score once again.
In the final minutes, the game turned into a bombing run for United, which faced closed Atletico, who were finally able to secure their place in the next round.
Manchester United manager Ralph Ranknick regretted the defeat and recalled Atletico’s defensive strength, saying, “Breaking that wall is not so easy. I do not think we have the physique to break that Atletico barrier.”
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