Man United lost 0-1 at home to Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round, and the "Red Devils" were eliminated in the final with a total score of 1-2. Learn more now. After drawing 1-1 away in the first leg of the 1/8 Champions League round of 16, Manchester United has a significant advantage when playing the second leg at home. Unfortunately, the "Red Devils" were defeated 0-1, despite the fact that statistics show that they are superior to Atletico Madrid. Renan Lodi scored the game's lone goal in the 41st minute. Continue reading with 247sport.net to see the main points of the match!
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Receiving Atletico, Manchester United made significant changes to their squad since their weekend victory over Tottenham. Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay all returned and were inserted into the starting lineup right away. Coach Ralf Rangnick let Anthony Elanga play from the start with Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho in attack line
After the opening whistle, Manchester United attempted to speed up the game. In the third minute, Elanga headed in from a distance of 5 meters, the ball went out, and goalkeeper Jan Oblak rushed out but was caught up in the melee. In the 13th minute, Elanga cushioned the ball at close range from a teammate's cross on the right; the ball hit Oblak's face and flew out. Man United had a bad luck with this ball.
Atletico always tried to slow down the game; the away team plays tight defense and frequently arranged two or three players to gather whenever the opponent has the ball. Atletico Madrid paid high attention in Sancho and Ronaldo, so Manchester United's two top attacking stars were frequently "captured to death." In order to attract people, Ronaldo had to move wide, allowing Fernandes to play as a virtual striker.
Rodrigo de Paul warned the home team with a shot from outside the penalty area on minute 16, but goalkeeper David De Gea pushed the ball away. Five minutes later, during a Man United attack, Fernandes fell in the away team's penalty area, but the referee waved his hand to signal the Portuguese player to stand up.
Atletico Madrid are not looking for a draw at Old Trafford; instead, the visitors are ready to accelerate counterattacks when the opportunity arises. The visitors' quick ball rotation tore through Man United's defense in the 34th minute, and Joao Felix scored, but the referee caught an away team player offside, so the goal was disallowed.
Man United's defense ignored Atletico's warning. Despite not facing many counterattacks, the home team's defense was quite sloppy. As a result, the "Red Devils" were forced to pay the price in the 41st minute. Antoine Griezmann delivered an accurate cross for Renan Lodi to hit the header near the left post. Lodi easily finished when he was not pursued; he forced De Gea to stand still and watch the goal be conceded.
Before Atletico scored, Man Utd players appealed to the referee, claiming that the home players had been fouled twice. Elanga was pushed down while crossing the right wing, allowing Atletico to get the ball and counterattack, and Fred was pushed down by an away player, preventing this player from participating in defense; in both cases, the referee did not whistle the horn.
Man Utd was forced to play offensively after that goal, but the home team was unable to overwhelm the opponent. In the first minute of the second half, Elanga had a chance to equalize the match, but his shot went wide. On minute 59, Sancho received an accurate cross from Dalot. The English player caught the volley on the left side of the penalty area. The ball had power but went out. Man Utd have a good chance to equalize the game, but Sancho's shot is too bad.
Realizing the need to change some players, coach Rangnick sent three members to the field in the 67th minute, including Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, and Nemanja Matic, but Manchester United's play did not improve. Edinson Cavani was introduced in the 75th minute as the German strategist continued to increase personnel for the attack.
Raphael Varane comfortably headed in the center of the penalty area from the home team's free kick on 77 minutes; the ball went close, so goalkeeper Oblak pushed the ball away. Ronaldo threw himself to catch the volley after picking up the ball on the left, but the ball went out.
Rangnick decided to take Harry Maguire off the field, bringing in Juan Mata in the 84th minute for Manchester United to focus all of their energy on attacking in the final minutes of the game. Unfortunately, not many attacking players on the field played well, and Manchester United members were frequently out of rhythm as a result of incorrect passing or ungrateful loss of the ball. As a result, the "Red Devils" watched Atletico Madrid win and earn a ticket to the quarterfinals.
Overall, despite the fact that Atletico did not outperform Manchester United, they deserved to advance. The away team came into the second leg with a clear and unified strategy, whereas Manchester United's attack was sluggish and their defense was uncertain.
The defeat to Atletico Madrid means that Manchester United must exit the Champions League after the 1/8 round. Man United will go home empty-handed this season due to the club's failure in cup competitions. Stay tuned to 247sport.net with live matches to see how Manchester United finishes the season with tough games ahead. For more information, please comment in the comment box.
