City keep their heads to send Atletico out, kicking and screaming
Tempers flare: Atletico Madrid's Stefan Savic clashes with Manchester City's Raheem Sterling during the closing minutes of a tense UEFA Champions League quarter final, second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano. Picture: Nick Potts/PA Wire.
PEP Guardiola was forced to endure a dramatic, tension-filled, and ultimately explosive second half, as his Manchester City side survived sustained Atletico Madrid pressure to protect their first-leg lead and set up a Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid.
For 45 minutes, City looked assured as they attempted to claim their place in the last four. The second period was a different story. Diego Simeone’s side pressed forward with intent before, in the final minute of normal time, their frustrations spilled over after Felipe fouled Phil Foden, prompting a confrontation between both sets of players and substitutes that ended with Felipe collecting a second yellow card and Stefan Savic somehow escaped a red after appearing to grab Jack Grealish’s hair.
Twelve minutes of ill-tempered added time followed before the whistle finally brought relief for City, seconds after Ederson had denied one final Atletico chance. City’s progress was reward for their discipline, character and maturity in an increasingly tense atmosphere.
Guardiola was under no illusions about the challenge confronting his side in the Wanda Metropolitano. Atletico may have prioritised containment in the first leg when they failed to register a single shot on target, but the City manager knew full well his side would face very different opponents second time around.
He responded by making two changes from the side that started Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool with Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan coming in for Raheem Sterling and the suspended Gabriel Jesus. That meant a rejig to the front three with Bernardo Silva stepping up alongside Phil Foden and Mahrez, but it was clear that, for the early stages of the game at least, the focus would be on the City backline and how well they would cope as Simeone’s side tried to impose themselves.
As Guardiola predicted, there was a familiar intensity to Atletico’s play and they immediately made life uncomfortable for the visitors. Joao Felix was prominent in the opening moments as the home side quickly demonstrated the determination and resolve that have long been a feature of Simeone’s teams.
There was also an edge to their play, notably when Felipe, the Atletico centre-back, floored Foden after an aerial challenge and somehow avoided a caution, despite the England international requiring lengthy treatment to a cut to the back of his head. It wasn’t the last time the forward was targeted by the home side but stuck to his task, growing into the game as the first half progressed.
Despite Atletico’s upbeat start, City also threatened on the counter attack and had a clear chance to double their aggregate lead in the tenth minute when John Stones broke free from his marker but directed his header over the bar when he should have tested keeper Jan Oblak.
There remained an urgency to the home side’s play but they lacked the precision to create the kind of opening that would have allowed them to really test Ederson. By contrast, City developed more fluency and they began to find holes in the Atletico defence, particularly when Mahrez delivered an exquisite pass with the outside of his left boot to send Kyle Walker clear on the right.
The full back delivered a low cross in front of Oblak’s goal that found its way to Foden. The forward’s first touch was heavy but he still managed to set up Gundogan who struck the post from ten yards out when, like Stones before him, he should have done better.
The move highlighted the danger posed by City when they were able to build possession in the home half. As half-time approached, there was a composure to their play that suggested they were capable of finishing the tie off, but as long as they failed to add to their first leg lead, the contest remained in the balance.
There was certainly no sign of Atletico losing heart when the game resumed after the break. Simeone’s side may have mustered just one attempt on target, but they had been given enough encouragement when they did press forward to continue to beliefve they could work their way back onto level terms overall. And it took an excellent saving tackle by City centre-back Aymeric Laporte to deny Antoine Griezmann a clear sight of goal after the France international had found space behind the visitors defence.
That incident summed up Atletico’s approach at the start of the second period. Simeone’s side pressed higher up the field, once again unsettling City who had lost the poise that marked much other first half display.
Felix had two good opportunities and a hurried clearance from Ederson confirmed City were feeling distinctly uncomfortable as they struggled to find a way through the home midfield and relieve a sustained period of pressure.
Guardiola introduced Sterling for De Bruyne in a bid to give his side a different outlet up front but the enforced withdrawal of Kyle Walker with an ankle injury did nothing to ease the growing uncertainty among the City ranks. City, though, stood firm and held their nerve to go through.
Oblak 6; Savic 5, Felipe 5, Reinildo 7; Llorente 6, Koke 6 (Correa 69, 6), Kondogbia 7, Lemar 6 (Suarez 82, 6), Renan Lodi 6 (De Paul 69, 6); Joao Felix 7 (Matheus Cunha 82, 6), Griezmann 6 (Carrasco 69, 6).
Lecomte, Wass, Hermoso, Vrsaljko, Serrano.
Ederson 6; Walker 7 (Ake 73, 6), Stones 8, Laporte 8, Joao Cancelo 7; De Bruyne 6 (Sterling 65, 6), Rodri 7, Gundogan 6; Mahrez 6, Foden 6, Bernardo Silva 5 (Fernandinho 79, 6).
Dias, Grealish, Zinchenko, Steffen, Carson, Delap, Edozie, McAtee, Lavia.
Daniel Siebert (Germany)
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