A 1-0 win away at Old Trafford was enough for Diego Simeone to lead his Atletico Madrid side into the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday night, edging Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United 2-1 on aggregate.
The La Liga Champions were much the better team in the first leg and unfortunate to only draw 1-1 in Spain. They will, as a result, feel as though they were more than deserving of their progression.
Renan Lodi’s first-half header was enough to take Diego Simeone’s side into the quarter-finals as Ralf Rangnick’s team endured a frustrating evening at Old Trafford.
Anthony Elanga had appeared to be fouled in the build-up to the goal but United lacked the defensive ability at the other end required to hold up a determined Atletico Madrid side.
Manchester United were the more enterprising team for much of the first half as they tried to press Atletico with some success, rushing the Spanish side to the delight of the crowd.
Raphael Varane’s tackle on Joao Felix was cheered, Fred’s flicks and tricks brought roars, while Cristiano Ronaldo was winning tackles by the touchline, dribbling down the wing. There were moments, hints that Atletico might fold. Elanga spurned a wonderful chance from close range. Bruno Fernandes wanted a penalty. Nothing was given.
There are many good sides that will fall prey to the ambush perfected by Diego Simeone, arguably the Champions League’s most artful on-repeat offender in this aspect, but few will go out with as little shame as the Manchester United team of this era.
No more trophies for another season, the Champions League a very long shot anyway, with the last Cup at Old Trafford now five years ago and the road back to the elite in Europe even further. This Atlético Madrid side are the champions of Spain but beaten by Liverpool, twice, and AC Milan already in this competition this season and still running the same cheatcodes for those willing to fall for the same old Nintendo tricks.
Simeone ran to the tunnel at the final whistle, the paper cups launched in his direction pouring drinks on him as he went and no doubt he was loving every moment of anger displayed by the Manchester United fans. Watch CLIP Here
His side had scaled through the best Manchester United threw at them in the early stages and then conceded a goal before half-time from the Brazilian Renan Lodi which they defended parking the bus as they do. In the face of such inflexibility, United lost the early momentum, ran out of ideas, and finished with a lot of famous forwards on the pitch and no goals.
Out in the round of 16 in this year’s edition, Ralf Rangnick has been unable to stop the general decline in the club’s Champions League performance that has yielded just two quarter-final appearances since they lost to Barcelona in the final of 2011.
Over that period, including two years of Sir Alex Ferguson, they have won just two games in 14 Champions League knockout games. The Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick in Saturday’s late win over Tottenham Hotspur was not, unsurprisingly, the exordium to a great European rebirth.
Meanwhile, United legends Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes heaped praise on the Atletico boss for delivering yet another masterclass away from home in Europe.
Ferdinand said: “They have a manager who knows how to put out a team to do a job. “I’ve seen him put teams out at Anfield to do a job and he’s done it again today. “They were so clever in the little details of the game, they slowed it down when they needed to.”
Scholes added: “It was a masterclass from a team, not a great team, going away from home and giving a performance that wasn’t brilliant, but it was street-wise. “You see the manager on the side. You see him asking for a yellow all the time? I love the passion that comes from him.”
He continued: “They are not a better team than Man United, but they’ve got a better coach. A more experienced coach who knows how to get results. “If he was coaching Man United, they go through in that game.”
The Champions League quarter-final draw will take place on Friday, March 18 at 11am UK time, with the balls being drawn out at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The semi-finals will be drawn at the same time, meaning clubs and fans can plot out their potential route to the Paris final.
The list of qualified teams are:
- Liverpool
- Bayern Munich
- Manchester City
- Real Madrid
- Atletico Madrid
- Benfica
- Juventus or Villarreal
- Lille or Chelsea.