Atlético scared away their worst nightmare and put final point to the tyranny to which Cristiano had subjected him in the Champions League. For the first time he left the Portuguese behind and got his head into the quarterfinals after coming out unscathed from Old Trafford in a match that recovered its best defensive image. The team was a carbon copy of the version that led him to become champion of the League less than a year ago and he recovered his enthusiasm for a competition in which he seemed resigned to being a simple troupe, but in which At the moment he is already among the eight chosen.
Imperial in defense, protecting his weakness in the lateral centers, concentrated during the 90 minutes and knowing how to read the moment in which he could do damage on the counterattack, andAtlético suffered the harassment of Manchester on its feet and when it was necessarytook care of the magic of Oblak, decisive in key moments. The rest of the work did Griezmannwho gave a master class from midfield and made the goal of I gave it who defeated the English resistance. Now the big European coconuts are waiting in the hype, but once Cristiano is eliminated from the game everything begins to be possible.
oblak it took only two minutes for him to understand just how much he would be pushed. The Slovenian collided with Elanga, who did not hesitate to miss him in an action designed to mark territory. The goalkeeper needed medical help, but recovered immediately and the next time he gave it back multiplied to the young Swedish striker. At 12 minutes, when the whole stadium had risen to sing the 1-0, he prevented the United striker’s shot from kissing the net with his head.
Atlético’s response was immediate and categorical. Rodrigo dePaul armed the cannon of his right leg and released a howitzer from 30 meters that forced De Gea to fly to the squad to send it to the corner and abort the first red and white arrival in a match that had started with a high adrenaline charge. It could not be otherwise.
For many minutes De Paul’s shot was the only athletic oasis on a night that turned red. Manchester monopolized the ball and dominance and subjected their rival to a harsh punishment that forced Gimenez already savic to show your best side. at 21 minutes Reinildo played the penalty against Bruno Fernandes already at 19 Dalot He found the three sticks, but without power or placement and Oblak pocketed the shot.
While, Joao It was an island Griezmann I couldn’t find partners with whom to combine and neither Llorente neither I gave it they were able to run down the flank. Consequently, the ball hardly traveled through domestic territory, but it did not stop flying over the foreign area. They were minutes in which the feeling that Manchester could score at any time It did not stop being perceived in the stadium.
However Atlético never loses faith. Not even in the worst of times. at 34 minutes Koke He combined with Llorente and for once the man from Madrid pierced the right wing with a knife. Joao finished off his pass to the net, but he didn’t even have time to celebrate the goal because Joao’s assistant Vincic stood with the flag raised. The review confirmed that Llorente was offside, but although the move lacked legal validity, it did have immediate effects on the game, because Manchester began to realize that it was not going to be that easy.
That’s how it went. In the next arrival, Joao waited for Griezmann to double him and left it to the Frenchman with his heels so that he extended to the far post where Lodi, with a header, beat De Gea by the nearest post. The Manchester players pounced on the referee claiming a previous foul by Reinildo, but this time the monitor did not reverse the goal and the 0-1 went up to the scoreboard Old Trafford.
Forced to go even higher due to a result they did not expect, United exhausted the first half in a melee of combat that found an answer in Oblak, providential in the discount to send a shoe from Bruno Fernandes to a corner and keep his team ahead when the referee finally stopped the fighting. Atlético went to the changing rooms classified for the quarterfinals, but there was still an assault to resist.
It took Elanga just a few seconds to warm up the second half with a cross shot that went wide, but Atlético refused to be submitted as in the first half and showed his claws very quickly taking advantage of a mistake of Maguire which ended with a shot from De Paul that De Gea safely bagged.
Jadon Sancho He was the next to try after 58 minutes after a great pass from Dalot, but the former Dortmund player did not adjust the peephole and shot high. Atlético’s response was an excellent counterattack that ended in a corner because Joao was a couple of centimeters short of finishing Lodi’s pass.
The second red and white warning finished convincing rangnick that it was time to intervene. Matic, Rashford and Pogba they added talent and muscle to the party and predicted a change in trend that Oblak again opposed, Masterful to stop a header from point-blank range by Varane after a free kick Telles just moments after Manchester will burn all the ships with the change of Cavani for Fred.
Simeon, very limited on the bench, gave rest to Koke and added physique in midfield with Kondogbia and at the end of the game he took with the entry of Bush by Maguirein a desperate attempt from the bench net which was offset by the addition of Philip as a central quarter, although the Brazilian hardly had time to intervene, although he did have time to celebrate, like the rest of his teammates and the 3,000 rojiblancos present in the stadiuma creditable qualification for the quarterfinals.
