Pep Guardiola speaks!
Jonathan Liew on one of City's matchwinner
Jamie Jackson’s match report has landed, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company and emails - goodnight!
Kevin De Bruyne’s post-match thoughts
“It was a very hard game. They played so defensively and they’re solid. They played almost 5-5-0 and it’s very hard to find spaces. I would recommend to anyone who says something about our performance to try it on the training pitch.
“In the circumstances we played pretty well. You need to be calm, patient, give nothing away and keep trying to find the spaces. You’re gonna lose balls because it’s so compact, but we had a couple of chances in the second half and we managed to take one. I made a run and Phil found me perfectly. I needed to stay composed and luckily I did.
“[On the aggro in the last 10 minutes] It’s the way they play. It’s their style and there’s no point us trying to fight them because that’s not our way. We handled it pretty well.”
That was a slightly odd final 10 minutes, in which Atletico Madrid’s main focus seemed to be trying to kick Jack Grealish as often and as hard as possible. Overall it’s a reasonable result for both sides, which kicks the tie down the road.
City had to work so hard to break down a superb Atletico defence. In the end the substitute Phil Foden broke the game open with two or three exceptional passes, the first of which created the winning goal for Kevin De Bruyne.
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Full time: Manchester City 1-0 Atletico Madrid
Peep peep peep!
90+2 min Now Vralsjko is booked for a snide foul on Grealish. Then Cunha goes down off the ball, and Ederson is booked for kicking the ball away. That was all a bit weird, Ederson did nothing wrong. Vrsaljko is still sledging Grealish.
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All Man City needed was Phil Foden on the pitch 😅
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 5, 2022
80 seconds after coming on he unlocks the Atletico defence to set up Kevin De Bruyne!
Big goal in this tie...#UCL pic.twitter.com/rRIXIah2EI
90+1 min Two minutes of added time.
90 min Atletico have booted Grealish all round the park since he came on. Correa has another go and misses, so Vrsaljko deliberately blocks him off instead - and the referee gives a foul against Grealish!
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88 min “Sometimes watching Foden as a false nine is a crime,” says Yash Gupta. “The right side is his best position, where he has the freedom to join the forward line or drop deep. And it brings his fantastic passing into the game.”
I agree, although I don’t think you should regard yourself as a criminal just for watching a football match.
87 min Foden has been terrific since coming on as substitute. He finds De Bruyne on the right of the area with an outrageous outside-of-the-foot pass. De Bruyne’s cutback is cleared and then Foden, backing up the play, has a shot blocked inadvertently by De Bruyne.
86 min De Bruyne thrashes over from 20 yards. In a two-legged tie the difference between 1-0 and 2-0 is huge, at least one goal.
85 min Gabriel Jesus is booked, I think for dissent, which means he’ll miss the second leg.
83 min Correa is booked for hoofing the ball in Grealish’s face when he was on the floor. It threatens to kick off, with Guardiola dragging Grealish off the field and away from trouble. That’s more like the Atletico Madrid we know and love.
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81 min: Atletico substitution Thomas Lemar replaces Joao Felix, who spent most of the night playing as a second left-back.
80 min: Chance for City! De Bruyne’s low shot from 15 yards is kicked away by Savic in the six-yard box. The chance came after a mesmerising slalom from Foden, who beat Kondogbia and Reinildo near the byline. His cutback was blocked and then Bernardo teed up De Bruyne, who didn’t connect as cleanly as usual.
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79 min Vrsaljko’s cross from the right is miscontrolled by Cunha, who had nipped in front of Stones. It wasn’t an easy ball to take as it bounced just in front of him. But had he done so he would have been one on one with Ederson.
77 min Kondogbia earns a free-kick just past the halfway line, which allows Atletico to throw their defends forward. It’s not a great delivery, however, and Laporte heads clear.
75 min De Bruyne is a bit fortunate to escape a yellow card for an overzealous foul on Matheus Cunha. He’ll miss the second leg if he is booked.
74 min Atletico would have taken this score before the game. They’d take it now, too, but after defending so well they will be frustrated by the goal. It looked like Felipe, who has been excellent all night, was caught slightly on his heels. Either way it was the first time all night that City were able to play through the eye of the needle.
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72 min Those touches before the goal were Foden’s first of the game.
It was an expertly taken goal from Kevin De Bruyne. Rodri found Foden in a bit of space, and I mean a bit, 25 yards from goal. He ran straight at the defence and stabbed a clever pass through to De Bruyne, who marched away from the leaden-footed Felipe and slid the ball decisively into the far corner.
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GOAL! Man City 1-0 Atletico (De Bruyne 70)
The substitute Phil Foden has made a goal for Kevin De Bruyne!
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70 min City’s front three is now Grealish left, Foden right and Gabriel Jesus in the middle.
69 min Rodrigo De Paul is booked for flattening Grealish early doors. He’s not one of the many Atletico players on a yellow card, or rather he wasn’t.
69 min: Triple change for City Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus replace Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan.
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68 min Bernardo’s cross is headed over from 14 yards by Mahrez. We’ve seen a replay of the penalty appeal and I think the referee was right. It might not have been a dive by Sterling but nor was it a foul.
67 min City appeal again for a penalty when Sterling goes over after a mild shoulder charge from Reinildo. My first impression was that Sterling dived, knowing he wasn’t going to reach De Bruyne’s through ball, but we haven’t seen a replay yet.
66 min Pep is wafting an iPad under the nose of Phil Foden, which suggests he is about to come on as well.
65 min “At the risk of sounding like I’m the type who charges into Wembley, isn’t this the type of game City signed Grealish for?” says Edal Tal. “I thought the idea was to use him as a random movement generator against deep defences.”
He’s about to come on.
64 min: Chance for City! Mahrez’s deep inswinging corner is headed onto the roof of the net by Laporte. It was City’s best chance so far, though he was jumping backwards so it was hard to keep the header down.
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60 min: Triple change for Atletico. Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Correa and Matheus Cunha replace Koke, Antoine Griezmann and Marcos Llorente.
59 min Cancelo’s cross is headed behind by Vrsaljko. De Bruyne’s corner is headed away by Felipe, but Atletico’s defence are being stretched more than in the first half.
57 min City are starting to threaten. De Bruyne slides a clever free-kick into Sterling on the left of the box, and he drags a first-time cross-shot well wide of the far post. He was literally caught in two-man’s land there.
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57 min There’s been a third goal in Lisbon, no word of a lie.
55 min: Good save from Oblak! De Bruyne’s low free-kick is saved to his left by Oblak. The ball dribbles from his grasp, in front of goal, and he reacts superbly to kick it clear while lying on the ground. There were a couple of City players waiting to gobble up the loose ball.
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54 min City work a short free-kick that leads to Mahrez being fouled again, this time on the edge of the D. That was an original way of gaining five yards.
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53 min Reinildo is penalised for what looked a good tackle on Mahrez 28 yards from goal. The free-kick is slightly to the right of centre, with Mahrez and De Bruyne over it...
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51 min Llorente shoots tamely at Ederson again - but this time he was onside. It was a good break from Atletico, with Griezmann sliding an angled pass to Llorente in the area. He had to take the shot on the run, from a tightish angle, but it was still a reasonable chance. And it’s the first shot on target on the match.
49 min “Sure, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a snappy dresser,” says Matt Dony. “But he’s only the second best-dressed player in the Everton dressing room.”
I do hope that’s a link to Michael Keane’s Instagram.
48 min Atletico break from the resulting corner, and for a second it looks like Griezmann is going to run through on goal from inside his own half. Gundogan stays with him, tugging his shirt here and there, and eventually forces Griezmann into an errant pass that goes out of play.
47 min De Bruyne fires a cross from the left to City, who controls it masterfully on the turn and hits a shot that deflects wide off Savic.
47 min “Hello Rob,” says Kári Tulinius. “I know that ‘one for the purists’ is a putdown of both the match being discussed, and football grognards in general, but I’ll be damned if tonight’s clash of the irresistible force and the immovable object isn’t one of the most gripping games I’ve seen where absolutely sweet eff all has happened. Enjoy the second half!”
46 min Llorente has a feeble effort saved by Ederson, though everyone knew he was offside.
46 min Peep peep! Atletico begin the second half.
“This game shows exactly why the away goals rule was created,” says Francisco Cubas, “to counter the Simeones of this world.”
I suspect I’m in a minority but I miss it. Mind you, Atletico sometimes benefitted from the away goals rule when the first leg has been at home.
Half-time reading
“Semi-gloating Liverpool fan here,” says Ian Copestake. “Looking over the fence to see what all that lack of noise is. If that Madrid get its nose in front then City will rue the day, I tell ya.”
You need to worry about a refreshed Phil Foden on Sunday, mate.
Half time: Manchester City 0-0 Atletico Madrid
Peep peep! A frustrating half for City, who had 70 per cent of the possession but no shots on target. Atletico have defended with cool authority and even crossed the halfway line on a couple of occasions. I won’t insult your intelligence by telling you how many shots on target they’ve had.
As a study in contrasts and tactical discipline, it’s been genuinely intriguing. As a piece of entertainment, it’s been a stinker.
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45 min “Atletico’s five false nines (25 mins) isn’t half mocking Pep’s measly two (10mins),” says Colum Farrelly. “I’m a bit late with this observation but I had to look up the spelling of measly.”
Five false nines? They’re five false sixes.
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43 min John Stones decides to shoot from 25 yards, and instantly regrets it.
41 min The referee warns Atletico for timewasting. We’re in the 41st minute.
40 min De Bruyne moves between two defenders in the area and then goes down. City think he was sandwiched and want a penalty. The referee disagrees, and rightly so: if anything De Bruyne stood on Felipe’s foot.
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39 min The City players are showing the first hints of... if not frustration then certainly impatience. There’s no eye in the Atletico needle at the moment.
38 min Vrsaljko plays a dangerous through pass to Llorente, who goes too early and is well offside.
37 min There’s been another goal in Lisbon.
34 min Mahrez plays a dangerous pass to the underlapping Joao Cancelo in the area, but Felipe steps across to take the ball off his toes. Then De Bruyne fouls Joao Felix, which leads to Simeone appealing unsuccessfully for a yellow card. De Bruyne will miss the second leg if he’s booked today, as will Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus, Kondogbia, Joao Felix, Llorente, Reinildo and Luis Suarez.
33 min A fierce long-range shot from Rodri hits Felipe on the edge of the area.
32 min Actually, there hasn’t been any real sh!thousing from Atletico; they’re just defending extremely well, and in numbers.
31 min There’s no sign of frustration yet from City despite the lack of chances. They’re focussing on the process, not the goal, at least for now. That might change if Atletico s!ithouse their way to a 1-0 lead with five minutes remaining.
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29 min “Perhaps Atletico have learned how to play City from watching Crystal Palace!” says Steve Anniss.
It’s a nice thought. But I’ve got to be honest, I’ve seen Atletico play this way a couple of times before.
27 min Cancelo beats Renan Lodi but then overhits his pass towards someone in the area. I say ‘someone’ because our broadband, and more importantly BT Sport, has just frozen. THIS IS WHY I CAN’T DO FOOTBALL WEEKLY REMOTELY, MR SCOTT.
26 min “Wuthering Heights, from chapter 13,” says Rai Skrupskis, who is in no mood to let this one go. “‘There, pale t’ guilp off, un’ then ye’ll hae done wi’ ‘t. Bang, bang. It’s a mercy t’ bothom isn’t deaved out!’”
But you agree on Dawson’s Creek, right?
25 min Atletico are starting to have a little bit more of the ball, with Joao Felix as mischievous as ever in possession. He’s a player, that lad, although as I type he is playing left midfield in a 5-5-0.
23 min Joao Felix breaks into the City area from the left but is calmly dispossessed by Joao Cancelo.
22 min A short corner is out and across to Gundogan, who wafts high and wide from 22 yards.
22 min City are having so much of the ball. We haven’t seen a stat but I reckon it’s at least 75 per cent. But we all know that Atletico get high on this stuff, and for the time being they look reasonably comfortable.
21 min There’s been a goal in the other quarter-final. You will believe the score!
20 min “Important fashion note here: looks like Simeone and Guardiola are wearing matching coats,” says Gene Salorio. “I see a future advert.”
I’ll be honest, I think fashion and football have moved on.
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18 min Mahrez’s inswinging cross almost falls for Gundogan, but Oblak charges from his line to pounce on the ball.
18 min Simeone will be quite happy with the first 18 minutes. Atletico have barely had a kick, it’s true, but the most important thing is that Oblak hasn’t had a save to make. Yet.
17 min Tacticswatch: as I look up, City are playing a 1-3-6.
15 min Atletico have barely entered the final third, just that one ball over the top from Joao Felix in the fourth minute. But they are defending with their usual determination and excellence.
13 min City appeal unsuccessfully for a penalty when Bernardo goes over just inside the area. It was a risky challenge from Koke but he got enough of the ball.
12 min Bernardo’s cross is headed away but only to De Bruyne on the edge of the area. He kills it and thrashes an early shot that deflects behind off Vrsaljko. The resulting corner is headed back across goal and wide by Laporte.
10 min I’m mesmerised by City’s formation. A lot of the time it looks like a 4-1-1-4, with De Bruyne and Bernardo as false nines.
9 min Cancelo whistles a long-range shot that takes a deflection and is desperately cleared by Atletico. City are starting to build some momentum.
7 min Still loads of City possession, though they’ve yet to get in behind Atletico.
5 min City’s starting positions were a lie - they’re now playing with Gundogan in midfield and Bernardo Silva as the false, false nine. De Bruyne is also playing very high up the pitch. Ake is still at left-back.
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4 min Joao Felix hooks a dangerous ball over the defence City towards Llorente on the right. Ake does well to stay with him and is then fouled by Llorente on the edge of the area.
3 min Nothing to report thus far except a whole lotta City possession.
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1 min Peep peep! After the City players take the knee, Ilkay Gundogan gets the game under way. It’s a rainy night in Manchester, and City have lined up as predicted on BT Sport - Ake at left-back, Gundogan as the false nine.
“Wuthering Heights might work for a City analogy,” begins Justin Kavanagh, “it being a tale of a broodingly dark stranger who captures the heart of a north of England stronghold, only to cause epic confusion and a series of ill-paired partnerships. But it’s the Withering Depths of Simeone’s sh!thousing Atletico that I’m looking forward to enjoying tonight.”
It won’t be the same without Hector Herrera.
Five minutes to kick-off
Wait, hang on.
“Speaking of Football Weekly,” says Matt Burtz. “I’ve been a faithful listener for many years now, and I’ve always wondered if we’ll ever get to hear your dulcet tones as a panelist. To whom at the Guardian should I address my petition/demand?”
If I were you, I’d go straight to the top: C.P. Scott, the Manchester Guardian, Manchester, United Kingdom, the 1920s.
(I did Football Weekly a lot in the early years but for various reasons I was fairly crap at it. And then I moved to Orkney, mainly so that I wouldn’t have to do it again.)
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Pep’s pre-match thoughts
“I want us to be ourselves, try to do our best individually and as a team, and after that football is football. We want to impose our game but they are a good team - champions of Spain, and they have always had good results in Europe. They’re a tough opponent.
“John [Stones] will play with Aymer in the centre and Nathan [will play at left-back]. We have players on the bench who can change the game - Gabi, Phil, Jack. But I decided to start with these guys today.”
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A reminder of the teams
Manchester City (possible 4-3-3) Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Laporte, Ake; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Gundogan, Sterling.
Substitutes: Steffen, Carson, Jesus, Grealish, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Foden, Egan-Riley, Mbete.
Atletico Madrid (5-3-2) Oblak; Vrsaljko, Savic, Felipe, Reinildo, Renan Lodi; M Llorente, Koke, Kondogbia; Griezmann, Joao Felix.
Substitutes: Lecomte, Christian, Wass, M Hermoso, Ibra, De Paul, Lemar, J Serrano, Suarez, Correa, Cunha.
Referee Istvan Kovacs (Tring)
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Guess who’s back/Back again/Bazza’s back/Tell a friend
After a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, the Football Weekly pod squad are going back out on tour. Tickets to live shows in June and July will be available here from midday (BST) on Wednesday.
“Wuthering Heights,” says Rai Skrupskis, “is epic bo!!ocks.”
I’m sure everyone will agree that you’re half right.
Tonight’s other game is Benfica v Liverpool, and you can follow that with Nick Ames.
Atletico come into this tie in prime form. They’ve won seven of their last eight games, and the eighth - a draw at home to Manchester United in the last 16 - ultimately led to victory. But their hardest match in that time was against Real Betis, so this is like jumping straight from level two to level five on Target:Renegade. Or was it level seven, I forget. You get the point, I’m sure. Oh. Well if that’s your attitude I don’t know what else to say.
Meanwhile, Manchester City have failed to win three of their last eight games, which makes one wonder whether Pep Guardiola has taken this team as far as he can.
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Head-to-head record
This is the first time Manchester City have played Atletico Madrid, so there’s not much point carrying on with this entry is there.
“I see Pep has deceived you once more with the team he in his supreme wisdom has picked for A.Madrid,” says Greg Pizzaman. “He will not give up his left-sided quarter back Cancelo just because Walker is suspended. Stones at RB. You poor mortal.”
I did say it would be either Stones or Cancelo, so I don’t consider myself chief patsy just yet. But I’ll put my hands up if he starts with a back four of Sterling, Mahrez, Guardiola and Brian Marwood.
There a few interpretations of that City XI. The official City Twitter graphic implies John Stones at right-back and Kevin De Bruyne as the false nine, but a few clubs have started peddling tactical disinformation on everyone’s favourite social-media platform.
For whatever it’s worth - and clubs do sometimes tip the wink to broadcasters - BT Sport have Joao Cancelo at right-back, Nathan Ake at left-back and Ilkay Gundogan as the false nine.
📋 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 📋
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 5, 2022
XI | Ederson, Stones, Laporte, Ake, Cancelo, Rodrigo, Gundogan (C), Bernardo, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Sterling
SUBS | Steffen, Carson, Jesus, Grealish, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Foden, Egan-Riley, Mbete#ManCity #UCL pic.twitter.com/odYZFItxtT
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Team news
Pep Guardiola’s team selection has barely registered on the Champions League Overthinkingometer. He’s left out Jack Grealish and, a bit more surprisingly, Phil Foden, but it still looks like a typical 4-3-3 with a holding midfielder and a false nine.
Nathan Ake effectively replaces the suspended Kyle Walker, with either Joao Cancelo or John Stones moving to right-back, and Kevin De Bruyne will probably be the false nine.
Meanwhile, Diego Simeone has reverted to the back three/five that worked so well at Old Trafford. But Atletico are without their best defender Jose Gimenez, who was injured against Alaves at the weekend.
📋 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 📋
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 5, 2022
XI | Ederson, Stones, Laporte, Ake, Cancelo, Rodrigo, Gundogan (C), Bernardo, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Sterling
SUBS | Steffen, Carson, Jesus, Grealish, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Foden, Egan-Riley, Mbete#ManCity #UCL pic.twitter.com/odYZFItxtT
Your starting XI 👊 pic.twitter.com/X5LOs7vm93
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) April 5, 2022
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Preamble
Wuthering Heights is an epic tale of tragic love; so is Dawson’s Creek. But if you want a nuanced, modern take on obsessive longing, you need to lose yourself in Manchester City and Atletico Madrid’s Champions League story. For the best part of a decade, both have craved to touch you know what. (The link is safe for work, honestly. Yep, absolutely fine. Ticketyboo.) Both have suffered reality checks, heartbreak, frustration injustice and, most dysphoria inducingly of all, defeat in the final. Two finals in Atleti’s case, and don’t even get me started on Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck.
Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone are running out of time to win this competition with their current teams. For one of them, another chance will disappear over the next eight days. It’s Manchester City v Atletico Madrid, with the winners to face either Chelsea or Real Madrid in a semi-final which, whatever the permutation, will be loaded with meaning.
The first leg of the quarter-final is at the Etihad tonight, with the second at the Wanda Metropolitano next Wednesday. City are strong favourites, for reasons that would be intelligence-insulting to explain, and all things being equal they will go through. But all things weren’t equal when Atletico put Guardiola’s Bayern out in the 2015-16 semi-final, or when they eliminated a rampant Liverpool two years ago, or when Pep was too funky by far against Spurs/Lyon/Chelsea.
If Atletico can get out of Manchester with at worst a one-goal deficit, they will fancy their chances next week. But for a word with only two letters, that’s a pretty big if. City are huge favourites, and nobody should be surprised if they get most of the job done tonight.
Kick off 8pm.
