Result
Manchester United and Atletico Madrid played out the second of two Champions League Round of 16 ties on Tuesday evening.
The score was level at 1-1 after the first leg in the Spanish capital, but with away goals no longer counting for anything, United did not have much of an advantage heading into the reverse fixture at Old Trafford.
Atletico looked to have taken the lead in the game but Joao Felix’s effort was ruled out for offside. There was no flag 40 minutes in though when Renan Lodi headed in a cross after easily peeling away from Diogo Dalot.
From here, Atletico did what they did best, time wasting constantly and winding up the United players and staff to see out the game and book their spot in the next round.
Manchester United player ratings
David de Gea (6) – Made an excellent save 15 minutes in to deny Rodrigo de Paul. Had little else to do after that.
Diogo Dalot (3) – Pushed too high up the field allowing Atletico to get in behind easily. Poor tracking of Lodi for his goal.
Raphael Varane (5.5) – Won most of his duels and tried his best to start attacks from deep. Head a header saved from a free-kick towards the end of the game.
Alex Telles (4) – Like Dalot he was too high up the pitch when the away outfit had possession, allowing Atletico forwards in behind a number of times.
Scott McTominay (4) – Struggled to deal with Atletico’s attack, which was likely due to him being used as the only sitting midfielder. Hooked after 67 minutes.
Fred (6.5) – A lively start to the clash that included him passing an Atletico defender with some clever skill. Looked much better deployed in a more advanced role alongside Bruno Fernandes, leaving Scott McTominay as the sitting United midfielder. Less of an impact in the second half. Off after 75 minutes.
Bruno Fernandes (5.5) – Played a great ball to Elanga early in the game. Created a few more decent chances after that which came to nothing. Somewhat surprising to see him taken off with over 20 minutes of the 90 left.
Jadon Sancho (5) – Had little impact in the first half. Volleyed over a Dalot cross shortly before the hour-mark, probably should have done better. Did little else of note.
Cristiano Ronaldo (3) – Didn’t manage a single shot throughout the game apart from an offside overhead kick. A poor showing in what was potentially Ronaldo’s last ever Champions League game.
Anthony Elanga (5) – Should have done better with a Fernandes cross early on, his effort came off Jan Oblak’s head. An energetic display but failed to create too much. Also did not get back and help Dalot out enough.
Subs
Paul Pogba (3) – Did not create any chances when he came on, also failed to keep the likes of Marcos Llorente and De Paul quiet.
Marcus Rashford (3) – Saw plenty of the ball when he came on but did little with it.
Nemanja Matic (4) – Passing was solid but he failed to have the same impact he had in the first leg.
Edinson Cavani (2) – Had five touches whilst on the pitch.
Juan Mata (N/A) – Only on the pitch for 11 minutes, had little of the ball.
What they said
David de Gea: “We are really disappointed with the result. It’s difficult to put into words how we feel now at the moment. We did not enough in both games to win it. It’s a very disappointing day for us.
“They are a team with a lot of experience. They know how to play those Champions League games. They scored a goal then are a tough team so it was hard for us to create chances. We are out of one of the most important competitions so we are very sad.”
What you may have missed
0 – For only the third time in his Champions League career, Cristiano Ronaldo tonight played 90+ minutes in a match in the competition without having a single shot; the others were for Man Utd v Panathinaikos in November 2003, and for Real Madrid v Barcelona in May 2011. Blank. pic.twitter.com/zTCG9e4Scg
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 15, 2022
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