Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne has said Atletico Madrid’s 5-5-0 formation surprised him as it’s the “first time” he has seen a team line-up like it.
Pep Guardiola’s edged the Spanish club in a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. The goal came courtesy of De Bruyne’s boot in the 70th minute but they will have to travel to Atletico on 13 April to seal their spot in the semis.
City had found it difficult to break Atletico down and the Belgium international spoke of their frustration.
“Teams play very defensively [against us] but today, for the first time, I see a team playing 5-5-0,” he told TNT Sports. “No strikers. So it’s very hard to find the spaces.”
“In the second half we had more chances and luckily we scored one, but we also didn’t give anything away and in that aspect, we played a really good game.”
And manager Guardiola said City hadn’t been prepared for their opponents to switch formations which made it increasingly difficult to get in front of goal.
“We sensed that they would play 5-3-2, then they adjusted and they became 5-5. In prehistory, today and in a hundred thousand years it is very difficult to attack a 5-5, there are no spaces.”
And while he was frustrated by Atletico’s tactics, Guardiola said he enjoys playing differently in Europe: “I overthink a lot; that’s why I have very good results in the Champions League. I love it. It would be boring if I always played the same way.”
City are bidding to win the Champions League for the first time in their history. The club came close last season, reaching the final, but they missed out to Chelsea who beat them 1-0.
