Cristiano Ronaldo laments a missed opportunity, one of many that cost Manchester United against Atletico de Madrid. (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Manchester United eliminated at home
Renan Lodi scored the winning goal as visiting Atletico Madrid overcame Manchester United 2-1 on aggregate to knock the Red Devils out of the Champions League.
It was a tense atmosphere inside Old Trafford at the start of the evening, with the aggregate score tied 1-1 leading into this second leg of the tie.
Anthony Elanga came close to scoring for Manchester United in the 13th minute of the game, when Diogo Dalot fed the ball into the box for the young forward to lash directly into the path of keeper Jan Oblak, who saved the attempt with his face.
Atletico responded with a chance of their own just minutes later, Rodrigo de Paul powering a shot from range towards the corner of the net, which David De Gea palmed away with agility.
Diego Simeone’s side maintained pressure on the hosts, which bore fruit in the form of a winning goal shortly before halftime.
Joao Felix was released down the right, but the talented Portuguese forward back-heeled the ball for Antoine Griezmann to curl towards the far post where Renan Lodi was waiting to head it beyond De Gea.
It was a crushing blow for Manchester United who went in to halftime 1-0 down with a nervous and discontented crowd watching on. The hosts tried to rally after the break, pushing forward in offence and bringing on veteran striker Edison Cavani and England international Marcus Rashford in pursuit of an elusive equaliser. But couldn’t beat Atletico’s Slovenian shot-stopper.
Their efforts came closest in the 77th minute, when United had two chances to score but were denied by a spectacular double save from Oblak.
Alex Telles swung a searching cross into the box which Manchester United defender Raphael Varane headed goalwards, only for Oblak to claw off the line into the path of Ronaldo. The Portuguese talisman attempted a bicycle kick from a tight angle which required saving, but ultimately the 37-year-old was caught offside so his rebound would not have counted.
Manchester United would come to rue these missed chances. The opportunities dried up as Atletico Madrid employed the time-wasting and game management tactics so characteristic of Diego Simeone teams. The La Liga side tightened up their defence and Ralf Ragnick’s men were unable to find a way into the box. A late desperate Dalot strike that soared wide summed up the evening for Manchester United’s attacking outfit.
In fact United’s star man Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t even register a single shot for the Red Devils, only the third time in his career that he has failed to do so in a 90-minute fixture (the others: Manchester United vs Panathinaikos 2003, Real Madrid vs Barcelona 2011). Harry Maguire also had another poor game in defence for United, leading the line when they failed to mark Lodi in the box and conceded the decisive goal.
That early goal settled the contest 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate, meaning that Atletico Madrid progress to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, whilst Manchester United have been eliminated from a Champions League knockout stage tie for the sixth time in their last eight attempts. It’s a notable decline for the Red Devils, one which Ralf Rangnick has seemed unable to reverse in his brief tenure.
La Liga champions Atletico join Bayern Munich, Benfica, Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid in the ranks of those currently qualified for the final eight.
TEAMS
Manchester United | De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Maguire (84’ Mata), Telles, McTominay (67’ Matic), Fred (75’ Cavani), Elanga (67’ Rashford), Bruno Fernandes (67’ Pogba), Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo
Unused Subs | Lindelof, Bailly, Jones, Lingard, Heaton, Henderson, Wan-Bissaka
Atletico Madrid | Oblak, Savic, Gimenez, Mandava, Herrera, Llorente, Koke (80’ Kondogbia), de Paul, Lodi dos Santos, Griezmann (90+3’ Correa), Sequeria (90’ Felipe)
Unused Subs | Lecomte, Suarez, Hermoso, Serrano Martinez, Moreno Rebanal, Gomez, Martin Dominguez, Gonzalez Verjara, Camara Silva
