Manchester United crashed out of the Champions League within the Spherical of 16 as Atletico Madrid defeated them 1-0 at Previous Trafford to take the tie 2-1 on combination.
The Reds bow out of the #UCL#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 15, 2022
The house facet seemed up for the competition from kick-off urgent effectively and making some sharp actions. Anthony Elanga, taking part in by way of the centre within the opening phases with Ronaldo out proper, seemed notably harmful. The teenager bought on the top of a Diogo Dalot cross within the third minute however his crazy header went large.
10 minutes later, Elanga ought to have opened the scoring. After some good motion down the appropriate wing, Bruno Fernandes crossed for the Dutchman who tapped it goalwards from contained in the six-yard field. His shot although was unwittingly blocked by Jan Oblak and his face, giving Atletico an early reprieve.
An electrical first 2️⃣0️⃣ at Previous Trafford ⚡️
▪️ @AnthonyElanga was denied by Oblak early on
▪️ @D_DeGea did effectively to maintain out de Paul’s try#MUFC | #UCL pic.twitter.com/v0uC8oZrSI— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 15, 2022
That served as a wake-up name for Diego Simeone’s facet. A couple of minutes later Rodrigo de Paul unleashed a depraved curling effort from vary however David de Gea went flying to his proper and bought a powerful hand to tip it away. One other spectacular save in what has been an excellent shot-stopping marketing campaign from the Spaniard.
United continued to dominate although, and have been taking part in some engaging soccer. Fred pulled out a neat skilful flip within the left channel, Dalot had a shot straight at Oblak after some nice interaction and Bruno had a penalty shout waved away.
Atletico responded in form. They thought that they had taken the lead after an beautiful by way of ball from Koke discovered Marcos Llorente in acres of area of their proper hand channel. The Spaniard crossed for Joao Felix to faucet it in however the flag went up for the primary move from Koke. Replays confirmed that it was a really tight name.
📸 Renan Lodi heads in opener to place Atlético forward on combination ⚽️#UCL pic.twitter.com/bSnsfxKcIl
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 15, 2022
The flag wouldn’t save United once more within the forty first minute as Atletico took the lead by way of Renan Lodi. Felix and Griezmann neatly exchanged passes in midfield earlier than the latter was launched down the appropriate channel. His cross to the back-post discovered Lodi fully free and the left-back made no mistake in heading the ball previous de Gea.
Ralf Rangnick’s males tried to reply and Bruno’s swerving shot wanted saving in first half damage time however Atletico went into the interval with one foot within the quarterfinals.
Forward on the break 💪 pic.twitter.com/fco2TbMMvj
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) March 15, 2022
The second half began the identical means as the primary, with Elanga going near scoring. Dalot performed a lofted move down the road for Bruno who back-heeled a pleasant move into Elanga’s path. The Dutchman drove inside and fired a shot simply large of Oblak’s far put up.
De Paul additionally had one other shot saved by de Gea, though this one was far more comfy. Manchester United had a golden probability to equalise on the hour mark when Dalot’s cross discovered Jadon Sancho on the far put up. Sancho went for the emphatic highly effective end with the instep on the volley somewhat than the managed facet foot and noticed his try fly large.
United proceed to knock on the door with Bruno’s free kick from the left simply evading Ronaldo’s head. Rangnick determined to roll the cube within the 66th minute, making a triple change with Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford approaching for McTominay, Bruno and Elanga.
Come on United — lower than 2️⃣0️⃣ minutes to go! 😤🔴#MUFC | #UCL https://t.co/iMp7qFaIcF pic.twitter.com/wSEGuyw5Ho
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 15, 2022
It was Raphael Varane’s probability to go shut, his header from a free kick requiring an excellent save from Oblak. Ronaldo tried an acrobatic shot on the rebound however Oblak comfortably lapped it up. Dalot was subsequent, firing a shot from vary large with eight minutes left in regular time.
United pressed for the equaliser however have been unable to get any momentum going. A stop-start final 10 minutes noticed Atletico comfortably see out the 1-0 win, as they’ve performed many instances earlier than. Listed below are our key speaking factors kind the match –
Fred the Pink
A lot has been product of Man United’s midfield woes this season however Fred has proven that regardless of the modifications in the summertime, he deserves a spot within the membership. The Brazilian turned in one other nice efficiency in opposition to Atletico regardless that it was in a shedding trigger.
Fred was energetic, making some nice runs into the field, and likewise showcased his technical ability. He has been distinctive underneath Rangnick and United have one spot of their midfield crammed for subsequent season.
Oblak rolls again the months
Jan Oblak had been one in every of, if not the perfect goalkeeper in Europe the previous couple of seasons however the 2021-22 marketing campaign has seen his performances drop off a bit. He has underperformed his put up shot xG considerably however he was on the prime of his recreation at Previous Trafford.
His first save may need been lucky however he dictated his defence fantastically, took command of his field and made essential saves from Bruno and Varane. A classic efficiency from an excellent goalkeeper.
A Simeone Masterclass
Tuesday evening was a basic Simeone Atletico masterclass. They have been defensively disciplined, sharp in assault and took their possibilities after they got here. Regardless of their struggles in La Liga this season, Simeone as soon as once more tremendous tuned his 1-0 machine good to safe development.
If they will maintain this efficiency up, they may very well be one of many favourites for the trophy in a topsy-turvy season.
