AB GhaylaneManchester United was knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid, who delivered one of their classic away performances, effectively condemning the Red Devils to a fifth straight season without a title.
Renan Lodi was the hero on the night, helping United to a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford and a 2-1 aggregate victory. Late in the first half, he headed home an Antoine Griezmann cross to earn a place in the quarterfinals.
Atletico Madrid vs. Manchester United: The clinical visitors send the aimless Red Devils falling out of the Champions League.
Manchester United was knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid, who delivered one of their classic away performances, effectively condemning the Red Devils to a fifth straight season without a title.
Renan Lodi was the hero on the night, helping United to a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford and a 2-1 aggregate victory. Late in the first half, he headed home an Antoine Griezmann cross to earn a place in the quarterfinals.
They built an impenetrable barrier around their own box, with United simply lacking the ingenuity to breakthrough. The Red Devils were limited to aimless lofted balls over the top and venomless long-range efforts.
Atletico, on the other hand, looked strong on the counter, with Joao Felix persistent in his pursuit. The roaming audience was even more tenacious, never losing their voices and making this corner of England’s North West seem eerily similar to Madrid.
Despite being out of the La Liga championship race, Atletico has something to hold on to a European dream that is still very much alive after a flashback performance.
United’s goal is to simply scrape their way back into the competition via the Premier League, where they will face a tough battle for fourth place. But, based on tonight’s performance, there’s no purpose – this team is nothing near Europe’s best.
Atletico Madrid vs. Manchester United final score
On aggregate, Atletico Madrid wins 2-1.
Goal:
Renan Lodi scores for Atlanta in the 41st minute.
Atletico Madrid advances to the Champions League quarter-finals with a score of Manchester United 0 Atletico Madrid 1 FULL-TIME: Atletico Madrid advances to the Champions League quarter-finals with a score of Manchester United 0!
94th minute: De Gea takes a corner in the final minute… and it’s straight into Oblak’s hands.
91st minute: United scores an improbable equalizer with four minutes of added time.
90th minute: Felix is replaced by Felipe, who has been outstanding tonight with his persistent running up top.
87th minute: Dalot is given a yellow card for preventing an Atleti counter-attack with a cynical, necessary foul, as the Red Devils continue to struggle to create any chances. Fans are starting to leave in droves.
83rd minute: Mata replaces Maguire after Dalot misses another long-range effort. The home crowd erupts in applause when the substitution is made.
In place of the smooth Koke, Geoffrey Kondogbia comes in in the 81st minute to provide some fresh energy in midfield for the Spanish giants. In other news, Felix wins a free-kick and stays down, as Matic’s rage flares. This is just what Simeone desires. Another minute or so has been squandered.
76th minute: Fred, the Red Devils’ standout player tonight, is substituted for Cavani. Can the Uruguayan attacker outshine compatriot Gimenez and become a United hero?
74th minute: This game is drifting away, just like it did towards the conclusion of the first half — and that’s exactly how Los Rojiblancos enjoy it. United has a lot of possession in the middle third, but no cutting edge. So far, the substitutes have had little effect.
Rangnick makes a triple replacement in the 68th minute in an attempt to save the sinking ship. For Fernandes, Elanga, and McTominay, Pogba, Rashford, and Matic are starting.
62nd minute: Unlike United, Atleti seems like they can score when they break. With one pass, a magnificent back-to-front counter-attack rips through the United defense, before a cross from the left-wing nearly eludes Felix’s outstretched leg.
60th minute: A long cross from the right finds Sancho, who shoots high and wide from a difficult angle on the left. It amounts to nothing, but it offers United’s anxious supporters something to cheer about.
In the 58th minute, United had run out of ideas. Atletico is defending brilliantly, erecting a barrier around the edge of the area and denying the hosts any chance to score. Long-range shots are stopped, and high, lofted through balls end up in Oblak’s arms. Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani are getting ready to play, and they’ll be required sooner rather than later.
52nd minute: Felix harries Maguire, causing the United center-back to twist and turn uncomfortably, before De Gea barely gets the ball out of the area, inviting another effort on goal. Simeone’s forces now have the upper hand in the battle.
47th minute: United’s first chance of the half comes from Elanga, who takes on his man on the right edge of the area and then shoots across the goal.
46th minute: The second half has begun, with no changes since the halftime break. Marcus Rashford, on the other hand, is getting warmed up.
Manchester United 0 Atletico Madrid 1 at halftime
At halftime, it’s 1-0 to the visitors, with a few boos from the Red Devils fans to send the players in.
46th minute: United’s options are dwindling, forcing Fernandes to hit a long-range shot that, at the very least, gets the fans out of their seats after a dreadful final 15 minutes.
In a dreary final few minutes, Atletico had just begun to show indications of gaining a footing in the game, retaining possession solidly. They withstood United’s early pressure well and now have the tie precisely where they want it.
GOAL in the 41st minute! Renan Lodi takes a shot from the back post! Griezmann crosses in from the right, and Lodi finishes it off to the delight of the Atleti fans. 1-0.
Offside in the 33rd minute! Felix has the ball in the back of an open net after a right-wing cross, but it will not be counted. That move, however, was all about Koke – pure skill in possession and a wonderful through a pass in behind Alex Telles to pull it off.
30th minute: The last few minutes screamed “Atletico Madrid in Europe.” That is, no attacking intent, disrupting any form of rhythm, and striking the deck whenever the opportunity presents itself.
25th minute: A great play from United on the outskirts of the box, moving from left to right, results in a shot on goal from Diogo Dalot, who has been particularly active down the right flank in the opening minutes. During the set-up, Fred made three passes.
22nd minute: Fred has looked like a new man in recent weeks, and he’s an important part of United’s attack here. He’s always looking for open space, always asking for the ball, and always producing once he gets it. With a lot of interchange of positions between Ronaldo, Fernandes, and Elanga, the Brazilian has a lot to deal with in front of him.
20th minute: Fernandes is brought down in the box and remains down, but the referee refuses to give a penalty.
15th minute: Rodrigo De Paul’s superb long-range drive is saved by a scrambling David De Gea. That was a fantastic effort. The resulting corner yields nothing.
12th minute: Huge opportunity! Dropping deeper, Ronaldo feeds Fernandes down the right flank, where he tees up Elanga from close range. The first-leg hero, on the other hand, smacks it right at Oblak. The hosts are off to a good start.
8th minute: It didn’t result in anything, but David De Gea’s jitters against his boyhood club were evident early on, with Joao Felix diverting his kick when the goalkeeper had plenty of time.
7th minute: Marcos Llorente appears to be in for a long night on Atleti’s right flank. All of United’s finest play has come from that side, and both Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho appear to be in good spirits.
United gets the game’s first chance in the fourth minute. As Elanga collides with Jan Oblak, the challenges for a header, but it just goes over.
When Ronaldo touches the ball in the second minute, the Atletico fans boo him. The game’s first back-of-the-envelope search for Fernandes comes up empty.
KICKOFF: We’re off and running!
3:50 p.m.: We’re ten minutes away from kickoff, and the excitement is mounting. Here at Old Trafford, there are a lot of Atleti fans.
3:40 pm: Varane has commented about how important the Old Trafford atmosphere is on special occasions like tonight: “The stadium is crucial for the emotional moments in the Champions League. The mood isn’t a minor consideration… it’s crucial. It’s all about energy at the top. You must appreciate your moment when you have this much excitement and vitality.”
3:25 p.m.: Surprisingly, United and Atletico do not have a long history of playing together in Europe. They’ve only played once before, in the 1991/92 Cup Winners’ Cup, with the Spanish team winning 4-1 on aggregate.
3:10 pm: In recent seasons, Atletico Madrid has failed to make an impact in the Champions League’s latter stages, with only one quarter-final participation since 2016/17. However, Simeone’s men famously knocked off Liverpool with a smash-and-grab performance at Anfield in the 2019/20 season, making them the only team to move from the round of 16.
Diego Simeone’s team announcement has arrived at 2:54 pm. As expected, the team will play a 3-5-2 (or 5-3-2 out of possession), with former Liverpool superstar Luis Suarez on the bench.
2:56 pm: Meanwhile, in-form United youngster Elanga is rewarded with a huge chance on the big stage.
2:45 p.m.: If the Red Devils exit the competition tonight, it will be their fifth straight season without a trophy. United’s most recent triumph came in 2016-17 when Jose Mourinho led them to the Carabao Cup and Europa League titles.
2:30 p.m.: Manchester United’s center-back Raphael Varane, a former Real Madrid great who is quite familiar with tonight’s opponents, says his new squad was “glad to draw” the first leg after a dismal first half. Anthony Elanga has also received plaudits from the Frenchman: “He’s getting better. He’s still young, but he’s got the appropriate mindset to progress and express himself. He’s lightning-quick and has a strong finish. This season, he’ll be crucial.”
2:15 pm: Ralf Rangnick lauded Cristiano Ronaldo for breaking the all-time global goalscoring record in his program notes: “He now has 807 goals to his credit, and I am confident he will continue to do so in the coming weeks and months – hopefully including tonight! His impact [against Spurs] was more than just a hat-trick; he was an important component of the squad on both offense and defense.”
2:00 pm: Welcome to Sporting News’ live coverage from Old Trafford, where Manchester United takes on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16-second leg. In the next hour, we’ll have confirmed team news.
Last month’s first leg in Spain finished in a 1-1 draw, with Anthony Elanga’s late goal canceling out Joao Felix’s opener. Of course, with no away-goals rule in place this season, tonight’s match at Old Trafford is precariously balanced.
United is coming off a morale-boosting 3-2 Premier League win over fellow top-four chasers Tottenham Hotspur, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick.
The Portuguese legend will be licking his lips at the thought of playing Atleti, encouraged by that performance that defied recent criticism. In 36 prior meetings versus Los Rojiblancos, he has scored 25 goals.
With Ronaldo chasing an unexpected, record-breaking sixth European title, the Red Devils will be reliant on him for the Champions League-winning expertise. He is clearly the guy for the big moment, and he will draw on prior historic match-winning performances at this point, such as his solo comeback against Atleti in March 2019, when he erased a 2-0 deficit.
Atletico Madrid, the reigning Spanish champions, is having their most difficult season under Diego Simeone to date. With his European experience for orchestrating close victories and outstanding defensive displays on the road, the Argentinian will look to provide some relief from his side’s domestic woes, which have them 15 points behind local rivals Real Madrid.
