Manchester City clenched onto their 1-0 lead in the warmed-up match, the Atletico out of the UEFA Champions League in the semi-final.
Manchester City held off a late Atletico Madrid charge on Wednesday. With Pep Guardiola’s team progressing to the Champions League semi-finals. Due to a tense stalemate at the Wanda Metropolitano. Kevin De Bruyne’s first-leg goal at the Etihad Stadium last week was enough for City to win 1-0 on aggregate in Madrid. However, the Belgians had to leave with an injury, which dealt a serious blow to their triple chances. Kyle Walker had to exit the game in the second half as well. Real Madrid will now face Manchester City, while Liverpool will face Villarreal. In the last four, there is also a semi-complete all-Spanish-English line-up.
In the last minutes, a tense battle erupted. It was then that Felipe of Atletico Madrid had sent off. For a wild swipe on Phil Foden, the Manchester City midfielder was already wearing a bandage on his head from a previous Felipe challenge. The altercation erupted into a major brawl in the corner, which only served to stop Atletico’s momentum. Also, in the last ten minutes, the hosts are finally putting a dominant Manchester City under pressure. Atletico Madrid’s negative tactics in the first leg were severely criticized, and Diego Simeone was publicly chastised. And this was simply a slight change, with the goal still being to keep the game tight until the final push.
On the other hand, Atletico was unable to score the winning goal. Also, Manchester City has advanced to the semi-finals for the second consecutive, putting them in contention for their first Champions League win. I noticed the words “Pride, Passion, Feeling” scrawled out over the stadium before the game. Atletico made a thrilling start chasing City high up the pitch and nipping at their heels in midfield.
IIkay Gundogan hits post.
Felipe clattered Phil Foden, Stefan Savic shoved Ilkay Gundogan over, and Walker, under pressure from the Atletico press, poked a ball out of play. On the other hand, Manchester City withstood the initial violent assault and took control. Even if Atletico looked dangerous on the break, they only managed to score with their final pass. Midway through the first half, Manchester City’s possession should have paid off when Riyad Mahrez unleashed Walker. It crossed, avoided the falling Atletico defenders, and found Foden at the back post.
The ball cannoned back off the post after Foden teed up Gundogan for a seemingly simple goal. In the plenary hall, Felipe blocked Gundogan’s headed rebound. After the restart, Atletico recovered and was accompanied by the crowd. Antoine Griezmann slid a shot just past the post, and Ederson smashed a nervy delivery downfield. Also, Marcos Llorente pushed the ball away from Joao Cancelo. Guardiola flailed on the sidelines, attempting to wake his squad. De Bruyne was substituted by Raheem Sterling with 25 minutes remaining. Angel Correa, Yannick Carrasco, and Rodrigo de Paul all came on when Simeone felt it was time to attack.
Image Credit: www.independent.co.uk
