after scoring the equaliser for Manchester United. Photograph: Nigel Keene/ProSports/Shutterstock
David Hytner was our man in the Metropolitano tonight. Here’s his report. Clickity click! Thanks for reading this MBM.
Ralf Rangnick takes his turn to talk to BT. “I don’t know if I rescued it, but after the performance in the first half, it could only get better. What we played in the first half, I still can’t believe what we did. We played without conviction, without all the necessary aggression, that’s why we really struggled. Second half we did better, and with another ten minutes, we might have even won the game. But we have to play better. I was very disappointed with our performance in the first half. We were far too apprehensive, and didn’t take any risks, without any deep runs or verticality. Anthony Elanga is playing as if his dream has come true. I wish a few other players would take him a role model, not because he’s doing everything right, but he’s enjoying himself on the pitch, and that’s what it’s all about. Football is an important ball game for the media and our supporters, but it’s still a ball game and you have to enjoy yourself on the pitch. This is what I wish us to do in the future, and when we play them again in a couple of weeks.”
United’s hero Anthony Elanga, brimming with confidence, and why not, speaks to BT. “That was my first touch as well! I’ve dreamt of moments like this, scoring in the Champions League. A big occasion like this, against a top European team like Atletico Madrid, is a dream come true. But it’s only the first half, and we’ve got to be ready for Old Trafford in a couple of weeks. I have told you how calm and cool I am. Whenever I get an opportunity I just want to repay the manager, and leave nothing in the tank. I give 150 percent every time I get on the pitch, and enjoy it. I always want to be the best player on the pitch. We didn’t play the best football, but we stepped up with the substitutions we made. Rangnick said to me, do what you always do, make the defenders scared. Hopefully the next leg will be even better.”
That wasn’t a performance that will live long in the collective United memory banks, but it was a fine result. A classic European away grift, in many ways, though of course away goals don’t count for anything extra any more. Still, United would have taken a draw at the start of the day; they’d have snatched your hand off for it after that half-time performance. But they did improve in the second half, and in Anthony Elanga they have one hell of a dancer. The second leg at Old Trafford will be played three weeks on Tuesday. Advantage United, then, just about.
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FULL TIME: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Manchester United
Lingard aims for the bottom right from 20 yards. Oblak parries. There’s nobody chasing down the loose ball, and the keeper claims at the second attempt. And that’s that. Simeone trudges down the tunnel, while Elanga is congratulated by his mates. That pretty much tells the whole story on an evening when United were outplayed for the majority of the match, but hung on, battled hard, and snatched a fine equaliser. Lucky, according to Rio Ferdinand on BT, but hey, you make your own luck.
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90 min +3: The ball bounces around in the Atletico box. Ronaldo and Fernandes sniff danger, but Kondogbia bustles away from danger and draws a foul.
90 min +2: Telles comes strong down the left a couple of times. A lovely dragback, then a cross that’s deflected out for a corner. If United score here, it’ll be one of the great unlikely European comebacks. Not exactly up there with 1999, but everything in context.
90 min: There will be four added minutes.
88 min: There’s a chance Griezmann might have been an inch or two offside upon taking that shot. VAR would have had to get the rulers out and squint quite a lot, mind.
87 min: The corner’s worked wide right to Griezmann, who opens his body and crashes a curler, meant for the top left, off the crossbar and away! That’s the second time the hosts have hit the woodwork tonight. This could be United’s night after all!
86 min: Lemar and Correa exchange crisp passes down the left to win a corner. Everyone into the box.
84 min: A free kick’s launched long into the United box. Gimenez heads harmlessly wide right. The United fans are going wild, having seen their team outplayed for the first 79 minutes of this game ... but now look!
82 min: Sancho is replaced by Lingard, then Telles is booked for a late bundle on Llorente.
81 min: That was a lovely, collected finish by Elanga. It might not have been the crispest strike, but direction was paramount, and he threaded it across Oblak and in. It was United’s first shot on target all evening.
GOAL! Atletico Madrid 1-1 Manchester United (Elanga 80)
The substitute strikes! Fernandes drives down the middle of the park, then plays a defence-splitting pass down the right channel for Elanga. He’s clear! Oblak comes across too far, and Elanga calmly rolls across the keeper and into the bottom left! What a smash and grab this could be!
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79 min: Not this time. His curler is always flying well over the bar, and the denizens of the Metropolitano do their thing. Gimenez, incidentally, was booked for taking philosophical discussions far too far.
78 min: Correa shoulder barges Fred, just to the right of the Atletico D. It’s a cheap free kick, but United get the decision. Ronaldo’s eyes light up. He couldn’t, could he?!
77 min: ... then Atletico make their first swaps, replacing the goalscorer Felix and the man who assisted him, Lodi, with Lemar and Griezmann. The latter’s arrival in particular is met with plenty of excitement. When play restarts, Llorente is booked for standing on the foot of Telles. A couple of minutes chock-a-block with admin.
76 min: Elanga comes on for Rashford ...
75 min: Fred is booked for arguing the toss over the award of a corner for Atletico down the left. The ball did come off him last, though. Fred half clears the resulting set piece, the ball falling to Kondogbia, who hoicks high and wide from the edge of the box.
73 min: Fred’s cross from a deep position on the right momentarily threatens to loop into the top-left corner. Oblak, finally with an opportunity to showcase his skills, plucks from the sky with soft hands.
72 min: The corner’s headed across the front of the United box to Felix on the left. Felix has time to take the ball down but, full of confidence after his earlier goal, attempts the spectacular bicycle kick. He connects, but not with any power or direction. Goal kick.
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71 min: Space for Llorente to run into down the right. He wins a corner off Telles.
69 min: On the United bench, Pogba cuts a frustrated figure, talking to himself in a very irritated fashion. On the pitch, his replacement Matic slips a cute pass down the inside-right channel to release Fernandes, who thinks he’s won a corner off Savic ... but the flag goes up, correctly, for offside.
67 min: A triple change for United. Lindelof and Shaw, both on a booking, are replaced by Wan-Bissaka and Telles. Meanwhile Pogba makes way for Matic.
65 min: Llorente tries to counter up the right. Rashford isn’t having any of it, clipping his man and taking one for the team. Into the book he goes.
64 min: Pogba goes on a drive down the right and draws a foul from Reinildo. A free kick just to the right of the Atletico box. Fernandes curls in. Gimenez heads clear. Sancho tries to return it with interest but his shot is blocked bravely by Herrera.
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62 min: Lodi dribbles around Lindelof on the left. He goes over easily, just outside the box, but there was contact from behind. Fortunately for United, the referee shows leniency. It would have been a very soft free kick, to be fair. It surely wouldn’t have been a second yellow.
61 min: Correa spins into the United box down the left. He wriggles and wriggles but can’t make enough space for a shot. The flag goes up eventually for offside.
60 min: United commit a few men forward, and apply a little pressure, probing hither and yon. But finally possession is lost, Felix cutely spins Lindelof, and the United defender is forced to bring him down to stop the counter, going into the book as a result.
59 min: This is being played at a fair old lick, and a few of the challenges by both sides are examining the far boundaries of legality. Don’t be surprised if somebody mistimes one soon, in which case all bets will be off.
57 min: Rashford has a dig from the best part of 30 yards. It flies a similar distance over the bar. But Simeone isn’t paying attention. He’s doing his little dance, beyond livid that Pogba wasn’t penalised for a slide into Correa. Thing was, the United midfielder won the ball.
56 min: Reinildo nearly gets going down the left but is denied by a fine sliding challenge from Lindelof.
54 min: A welcome period of possession for United. Suddenly they click into gear for the first time this evening, Pogba sending a diagonal ball towards Fernandes, just inside the Atletico box on the left. A heavy touch allows Savic to block and clear, but for a nanosecond things threatened to open up for United there. Better control from Fernandes and that move could have changed everything.
52 min: Felix pokes a cute pass wide left for Lodi to race onto. Lodi thinks Lindelof is going to make a challenge, so hoofs the ball, expecting the defender to block. Lindelof steps back, and Lodi belts out at 101 mph for a goal kick. Great defending in the end, though United were once again very close to being cleaved open.
51 min: Shaw is booked for clipping Vrsaljko. “United are playing like a club that doesn’t know who the manager is, and a team that doesn’t know who the captain is,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “They’ve even managed to make a park defender out of Varane tonight.”
50 min: Fernandes, out on the right and out of sorts, flays an aimless ball behind for a goal kick. That was some way off target. A deep frown. A study in frustration.
49 min: Vrsaljko curls deep from the right. Lodi is lurking, so Lindelof has to head behind for another corner, this time on the left. The set piece is a waste of time, which is just as well for United, who need to weather a storm here.
47 min: Lindelof and Fred attempt a one-two down the right. Fred clanks the ball straight out of play. United have been so sloppy this evening. This mistake allows Felix to advance towards their box and take a shot that’s deflected wide right for a corner. The set piece is worked back to Llorente, who whips a dismal shot well wide right from the edge of the box
Atleti get the second half underway. No changes.
Manchester United’s expected goals tally at half-time: 0.05.
Half-time entertainment. The latest edition of Football Weekly is here, with some hot Champions League content for your entertainment. Promise you’ll come back for the second half, though?
HALF TIME: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Manchester United
There’s just enough time for Herrera to pick up a booking after a tussle with Ronaldo, and that’s the end of the first 45. The scoreline doesn’t flatter Atletico one bit. United have some thinking to do.
45 min: Pogba hauls down Kondogbia out on the left, and it’s another chance for Atleti to send a free kick into the United mixer. They play it down the flank instead. Lodi hooks to the far stick. The ball flicks off Fernandes, helping it on. Vrsaljko comes bombing in and sends a downward header from six yards off Lindelof’s face, then off the crossbar! He simply had to score. United get away with a big one there.
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44 min: Rashford crosses from the right. There’s nobody there in United blue. Vrsaljko takes his time to cushion a header back to Oblak, who is yet to have his hands warmed.
42 min: This is getting a little scrappy. A lot of tussling going on.
40 min: Ronaldo is down and receiving the treatment normally associated with cramp. That can’t be right, can it? He was clipped on the ankle moments before, so assume it’s that, and his team-mate, head out of shot, has the wrong end of the stick.
39 min: Pogba tries to get something going for the visitors with some battling ball retention down the left. But he can only advance so far, and eventually he’s swarmed, destined to give a foul away in frustration.
37 min: More dog’s abuse for Ronaldo as he strides down the right before dragging a weak shot across the underemployed Oblak and out for a goal kick. A little better from United, though.
36 min: Herrera and Ronaldo come together in midfield. It’s a foul on Ronaldo, but he’s the one who gets the bird from the crowd, naturally.
34 min: Herrera, quarterbacking from deep, rakes a diagonal ball towards Lodi on the left. Lodi makes it into the box before lashing a rising shot into the side netting. De Gea had it covered.
33 min: Ronaldo heads Lodi’s free kick clear. He then tries to launch a counter, only to bowl his near-namesake Reinildo over near the halfway line. Foul, and the home fans enjoy giving their old adversary the bird as he screams to himself in annoyance.
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32 min: Some more sloppy defending from Varane, as he plays a poor pass out to Kondogbia, who slips Lodi into space down the left. Varane, chasing back to atone, fouls Lodi just outside the box on the wing. Everyone squeezes into the United area.
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30 min: Correa nicks the ball off last man Varane, who is left scrabbling around on all fours. Fortunately for United, De Gea races out of his box to clear. “Didn’t United consider making an offer for João Felix not too long ago but the attempt fell through? I suppose you could say they failed to net Felix and chill.” Peter Oh there, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try the pork stew.
28 min: Lodi reaches the byline on the left and whips in for Felix, who shapes like Zidane in the 2002 final but flays his volley miles over the bar. Felix lost the United defence with worrying ease there.
27 min: The officials give Simeone his first lecture of the evening.
25 min: United faff around at the back. Maguire gives Fred a hospital pass. Kondogbia whips it off his toe, and suddenly United are in a world of pain. But the referee gifts them an out, blowing for a very soft free kick. The visitors got away with one there.
24 min: Rashford makes off down the right and wins a corner off Savic, who tackled him in the hard but fair fashion on the edge of the box. That had to be timed perfectly, or Rashford was going over to earn the spot kick. What a tackle. Nothing comes of the corner.
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23 min: It’s probably no great surprise to tell you that, having taken an early lead, Atletico are more than happy to sit back and see what United can do. Then they spring on the counter. Llorente curls into the United box from the right. Lindelof is forced to head behind for a corner with Lodi lurking ... but the flag goes up for offside, sparing United another defensive job.
21 min: Atletico break at speed. Herrera rolls infield from the right. Correa spins and looks to free Lodi down the left. Fortunately for United, Sancho was on point to intercept. For a second there, United were dangerously exposed.
19 min: The other thing that made Felix’s goal picture-perfect was De Gea’s reaction. Rooted to the spot, he watched in horror as it cannoned off one post, then turned around as the ball flew behind him, hoping against all hope that it somehow stayed out of the net, a look of impotent horror spreading slowly across his face.
17 min: Atletico deal with Shaw’s corner easily enough. But after that slow start, United are at least getting a foothold in the game.
16 min: Before the corner can be taken, Savic and Pogba are given a good talking-to by the referee for playing silly buggers in a crowded box.
15 min: Fernandes takes a speculative pop from the right of the D. The ball pings off Savic and out for United’s first corner of the evening.
14 min: Felix dribbles at speed down the middle. Rashford does extremely well to stop him just outside the D, but the ball breaks right to Vrsaljko, who crosses low and hard. Lindelof clears. The hosts look dangerous every time they attack.
12 min: United show in attack for the first time this evening, Ronaldo, Pogba and Rashford taking turns to probe down the right. There’s no way through a packed Atleti defence.
11 min: United try to steady the ship with some sterile possession in midfield. A good idea, all told. The home fans respond with plenty of pantomime whistling, the volume of which going up to 11 every time Ronaldo takes a touch. On the touchline, Diego Simeone is kicking every ball.
9 min: That was an astonishing leap by Felix, who hovered in mid-air for what seemed like hours. And what a header! And the thing is, while you can perhaps question Maguire’s positioning and reaction time, the cross by Lodi was so good, it would surely have taken most defenders out of the equation. Just a wonderful goal all round.
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GOAL! Atletico Madrid 1-0 Manchester United (Felix 7)
What a goal this is! Lindelof heads the corner clear, but the ball flies to Lodi out on the left. From deep, Lodi whips a glorious curler onto the head of Felix, who has the run on Maguire. Felix bullets a flying header onto the left-hand post and in. Almost as good as Keith Houchen! Only seven minutes played, and yet that had been coming.
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6 min: United look a bit jittery during these early exchanges. De Gea shanks a simple clearance out of play, and from the resulting throw, Atletico win another corner down the right. From that ...
5 min: Felix skitters down the inside-left channel and drifts inside, opening his body with a view to shaping a shot into the top right. He gets his curler all wrong. Goal kick.
4 min: Herrera and Fred compete for a high ball. The latter comes of worst. On comes the physio for the first, but not, I’ll be bound, the last time tonight. Fred’s up and running again quickly enough.
3 min: United fail to clear the corner. Fernandes swipes fresh air, allowing Correa to nip in down the right and pull back for Gimenez, whose shot from the edge of the box is blocked brilliantly by Lindelof. A fast start by the hosts.
2 min: An otherwise acceptable atmosphere in the Estadio Metropolitano. Everyone making one hell of a racket. Correa launches long. Maguire heads out for a corner, under no pressure whatsoever. He spins and has a go at De Gea, but that was very poor.
United get the first leg of this Round-of-16 tie underway. The visitors take the knee first, to a cacophony of whistles from the home support. There’s no room for racism.
The teams are out! Atletico Madrid, Los Colchoneros, are in mattress-homage red and white stripes. That forces United into third-choice 90s-throwback blue and black. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes, once Uefa have bastardised Zadok the Priest, and captains Jan Oblak and Bruno Fernandes Harry Maguire have exchanged pennants. We’ll be off before you know it!
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A bit of a surprise that Rangnick has picked a central defender in the right-back position. Not exactly a show of confidence in Aaron Wan-Bissaka or Diogo Dalot. “If I’m one of the right backs in that squad, I’m spitting feathers,” says Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport. Owen Hargreaves agrees. “Oh, fuming.” To be fair to Rangnick, he pointed out that this particular selection allows the easy switch to three at the back. Let’s see how this tactical gambit pans out, then. I hope Jonathan Wilson has a nice sharp pencil.
Ralf Rangnick talks to BT Sport: “We want to play as we played in the last couple of games. Put pressure on the other team while being as compact as we can be. Hopefully we can start well, like we did against Leeds. Keep a clean sheet, and if possible score one or two goals. Scott McTominay is ill, he is still not feeling well and will be a doubt for the Saturday game as well. We need to make sure we don’t give Atletico any chances.”
Anyway, what’s all this about Atletico’s current dip in form? Diego Simeone sides are rarely seen flailing around for consistency or a clear identity ... but that’s what the reigning Spanish champions have been doing of late. Sid Lowe snaps everything into sharp focus for your edification.
Scrub all that: Uefa have just issued a new teamsheet topped by the words CORRECTED VERSION ... and it names Harry Maguire as United captain. Gossip columnists stand down.
A difference of opinion between Uefa and Manchester United this evening. The official team sheet has Bruno Fernandes down as United’s captain, but actual captain Harry Maguire has been listed as skipper by the club. That piece of news, such as it qualifies, registers a full 11 out of ten on the Guardian’s patented Tittle-Tattle-O-Meter™, and almost certainly signifies very little of long-term importance, if indeed anything at all. But the MBM would be negligent in its duties if we ignored it altogether. All eyes on the pennant swap ... to the max!
Atletico Madrid make three changes to the XI starters for the 3-0 win at Osasuna. Renan Lodi, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Angel Correa are in. Former Liverpool irritant Luis Suarez drops to the bench, while Yannick Carrasco (suspended) and Koke (injured) miss out altogether.
Manchester United also make three changes to their starting line-up, following the 4-2 win at Leeds. Raphael Varane, Marcus Rashford and Fred step up. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jesse Lingard drop to the bench, while Scott McTominay is absent from the squad. Victor Lindelof will be stationed at right back, by the looks of it.
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The teams
Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Savic, Gimenez, Mandava, Vrsaljko, Llorente, Kondogbia, Herrera, Renan Lodi, Correa, Joao Felix.
Subs: Lecomte, De Paul, Griezmann, Suarez, Lemar, Felipe, Hermoso, Serrano, Gomez.
Manchester United: de Gea, Lindelof, Varane, Maguire, Shaw, Fred, Pogba, Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Sancho, Ronaldo.
Subs: Bailly, Jones, Mata, Lingard, Dalot, Heaton, Henderson, Alex Telles, Wan-Bissaka, Matic, Elanga, Mejbri.
Referee: Ovidiu Alin Hategan (Romania).
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Preamble
These two giants have only met once before in serious competition. Alex Ferguson’s side were holders of the Cup Winners’ Cup when the clubs were paired in the 1991-92 season’s second round. Luis Aragones’ men took a 3-0 first-leg lead at the Vicente Calderón. Paulo Futre opened the scoring after 32 minutes, then instigated a late double whammy, adding a second on 86, Manolo effectively putting the tie to bed two minutes later. Mark Hughes scored early in the return at Old Trafford, but Bernd Schuster equalised on 68 minutes and all hope of a glorious United comeback was lost.
So what history there is favours Atleti, but the more relevant (i.e. up-to-date) stuff tips the scales the other way. First up, there’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who appears to have made it his life’s work to scupper Atletico’s dreams at every turn. A goal in Real Madrid’s victory in the 2014 final. The decisive penalty in the 2016 final. A hat-trick in the 2017 semis. Another three-goal haul for Juventus at this stage in 2019. All in all, 25 goals in 35 appearances against Atleti. He’ll be starting tonight, you can be sure of that.
Also, Atleti’s form isn’t great. United’s may be patchy enough, but they’ve only lost one game in all competitions since the end of the groups; Diego Simeone’s side have lost seven since then, and they’re uncharacteristically shipping goals. They’ve already conceded 34 times in La Liga in 2021-22, already nine more than during the entirety of last season’s championship-winning campaign. Oh, and Atleti are on a four-game losing streak against English sides, having been seen off home and away by Liverpool in this year’s groups and Chelsea at this stage 11 months ago. Some promising signs for United then ... though you underestimate Simeone’s men at your peril, and it’s fairly unlikely Ralf Rangnick will do that.
Both teams are coming off a spirit-boosting weekend win, at Osasuna and Leeds United respectively. Both will fancy their chances. A huge first leg that may go a long way to defining their seasons. Kick off is at 9pm local at the Estadio Metropolitano, 8pm GMT. It’s on!
