Atletico Madrid and Manchester City played out an intense goalless draw on Wednesday as the Cityzens qualified for the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
Atletico Madrid came into the encounter with a 1-0 deficit after Kevin De Bruyne’s 70th-minute strike had given Manchester City the all-important lead in the quarter-final. Pep Guardiola’s men were firm favourites to make it to the semi-finals and were expected to cruise through the second leg.
However, it was anything but easy for the Premier League champions as Atletico Madrid managed to keep their visitors’ attack at bay while forcing them to defend resolutely. The Spanish side tightened the screws as the match was coming to a close, with City scrambling to hold on to a clean sheet.
Players from both sides were involved in a scuffle after Felipe appeared to have kicked Phil Foden in the closing minutes of the game. The Atletico Madrid defender was sent off eventually, leaving the Rojiblancos to chase the encounter with just ten men.
However, Manchester City held on and booked a spot in the Champions League semi-finals where they will face Real Madrid. Liverpool and Villarreal will play the other second semi-final of the tournament. Here’s how players from both sides fared in the high-intensity encounter at Wanda Metropolitano.
Atletico Madrid
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— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) April 13, 2022
Jan Oblak: 7/10
The Atletico Madrid goalkeeper was not called into action much and held his own to maintain the clean sheet.
Marcos Llorente: 7/10
Llorente put in the hard yards, going up and down the length of the right flank and contributing both in defence and offence. He made three key passes, along with making an interception and two tackles while being dribbled past just once. He won three aerial duels and two ground duels to cap off a solid night.
Stefan Savic: 8/10
Savic was a rock at the back for Atletico Madrid, ensuring that City did not get their second goal of the tie. He made two clearances, two interceptions, three tackles and blocked a shot. He also won five of his seven ground duels, and four of six aerial duels. He was lucky not to be sent off after being involved in a scuffle late on in the match.
Felipe: 6/10
Felipe was having a great outing until an ill-tempered decision in the dying embers of the game brought his outing to a close. He made three clearances, one interception and blocked two shots.
Did Felipe deserve a red card for this challenge against Foden? ?#UCL pic.twitter.com/c2Hk9kxt20
— Wyngback Soccer ⚽️ (@wyngback) April 13, 2022
Reinildo Mandava: 7/10
Reinildo completed a strong showing from Atletico Madrid’s centre-backs. He blocked a De Bruyne shot early on in the game and one in the second half. A solid defensive display from the centre-back.
Renan Lodi: 6/10
Renan Lodi bombed up and down the left flank but could not create enough for his forwards to feast on. He could manage just one cross in the 70 minutes he was on the pitch and was eventually taken off for Angel Correa as Atletico Madrid pushed for a goal.
Antoine Griezmann: 6/10
Griezmann was not nearly as effective as he, and his teammates, would have hoped for. He made just 35 touches of the ball and completed only 72% of his attempted passes. His defensive contribution was decent, as he made four tackles in the match.
Koke: 5/10
A poor night for the Atletico Madrid captain who looked anonymous at times. Koke was not his usual self and struggled to dominate proceedings from the centre of the park. He was replaced by Rodrigo De Paul in the 69th minute.
Geoffrey Kondogbia: 7/10
Kondogbia was his usual solid self in midfield, shielding his defence well while making forward runs as well with Atletico pushing for an equaliser in the Last-Eight tie. He won six of his seven ground duels and both his aerial duels.
Thomas Lemar: 6/10
The Frenchman struggled to make any sort of impact on the game. None of his three crosses found his teammates, and his only shot was blocked. Luis Suarez came on for him in the 82nd minute as the Rojiblancos were chasing the match.
Joao Felix: 6/10
The Portuguese international cut a frustrated figure leading the line for Atletico Madrid, managing just 29 touches of the ball. Felix could muster only one shot and just one of his five dribble attempts was successful.
SUBSTITUTES
Yannick Carrasco: 7/10
The Belgian attacker was quite busy after coming on for Griezmann in the 69th minute. He drove into the Manchester City box at will and was involved in most of the Rojiblancos’ attacks after coming on.
Rodrigo De Paul: 7/10
The Argentine was highly influential after coming on for Koke. He was quite busy, making contributions on both ends of the pitch. He made two key passes and took three shots. All three of his ground duels were successful too.
Angel Correa: 6/10
Correa was brought on for Lodi to provide attacking impetus to Atletico Madrid. He played a key pass, took two shots, and won three of his six ground duels. He was enterprising with his dribbling too, winning two of his four dribbling attempts.
Matheus Cunha: N/A
Cunha came on in the 82nd minute for Felix but did not do enough to warrant a rating.
Luis Suarez: N/A
Suarez was brought on for Lemar in the 82nd minute.
Manchester City
A big night in Madrid! ?#ManCity pic.twitter.com/0xvcq7Z4Fd
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 13, 2022
Ederson Moraes: 8/10
Ederson had a solid outing as he kept multiple Atletico Madrid attacks at bay, especially in the dying embers of the game. He commanded his box well and his distribution was commendable too.
Kyle Walker: 7/10
An all-round display from the Manchester City full-back, who had to be taken off in the 73rd minute after picking up an injury. He was defensively strong, holding his own on the right flank.
John Stones: 8/10
Stones was the star of a disciplined defensive display from City. He made two clearances, blocked a shot, made an interception and a last-ditch tackle late on in the match to deny Atletico the equaliser. His distribution was highly impressive as well, as he completed 96% of his passes. Three of his four long balls found his teammates.
Aymeric Laporte: 7/10
Laporte formed a formidable partnership with John Stones at the heart of Manchester City’s defence, ensuring that Pep Guardiola’s men returned home with a clean sheet. He made three clearances, a tackle and blocked a shot too.
Joao Cancelo: 8/10
Cancelo was a menace down the left flank for Atletico Madrid. He was busy throughout the match, contributing heavily on both ends of the pitch. While defensively, he made two interceptions, a clearance, a tackle, and won nine of the 13 duels he was involved in, offensively he played a key pass, took a shot and completed three of his five dribbles.
Kevin De Bruyne: 6/10
While Kevin De Bruyne had a decent match overall, it was not quite enough by his standards. He did play two key passes and took a shot but was not nearly as effective as he would have wanted. He was taken off for Raheem Sterling in the 65th minute.
Semis!!! What a team! ? pic.twitter.com/w2tozOrfC0
— Kevin De Bruyne (@DeBruyneKev) April 13, 2022
Rodri: 7/10
Rodri dominated proceedings from the middle of the pitch. He shielded his defence quite well, making three clearances and four tackles. He won five of the 11 ground duels he engaged in and all of his five aerial duels. A solid game for the Spain international.
Ilkay Gundogan: 7/10
The Manchester City captain was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet after his low-driven shot hit the woodwork. He had a goal-bound header blocked as well. Defensively, he made three interceptions and two tackles and was dribbled past just once.
Riyad Mahrez: 7/10
Riyad Mahrez was quite enterprising with his dribbling and was probably Manchester City’s best attacking outlet. He was lethal on the right wing, winning all four of the dribbles that he attempted.
Phil Foden: 6/10
Foden was often forced to drift towards the left, where Marcos Llorente kept him in check. The English youngster did not have the best of outings and managed just one shot on goal. He made a key pass and a tackle, but that was about it.
Bernardo Silva: 6/10
The Portuguese struggled to make any sort of impact on the match. He could not take any shot on goal and was often forced to drop deep to get involved in the game. He was taken off for Fernandinho in the 79th minute as Guardiola decided to protect Manchester City’s 1-0 aggregate lead.
SUBSTITUTES
PEP ? In the second half of the second leg they were much better but at the same time we defended with everything. Fernandinho was excellent, gave us an incredible boost and Nathan Ake as well.#ManCity pic.twitter.com/4tcevVqt4M
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 13, 2022
Raheem Sterling: 6/10
Sterling came on for De Bruyne in the 65th minute but did not have the sort of impact he would have hoped for. He could manage just 13 touches of the ball, in which he played a key pass and also created one big chance.
Nathan Ake: 6/10
Ake came on for Kyle Walker and looked solid. He won both his ground duels and made as many as five clearances with Atletico pushing to get an all-important goal.
Fernandinho: 7/10
Fernandinho came on in the 79th minute and did exactly what Guardiola would have asked for. He won all three of his ground duels, made a clearance, two interceptions and a successful tackle.
