In the end there was only chaos. A good 60,000 spectators gathered to verbally abuse Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola. The reason: His team, who were notorious for being so elegant and exemplary, used every break in the game to gain time. And turning the 1-0 win from the first leg into gold. They succeeded, with great effort, in a game marked by tumult at the end: City fought a 0-0 lead after twelve minutes of added time – and qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League. The leaders of the Premier League meets Real Madrid there.
Atlético Madrid went through a total transformation compared to the first leg. Unlike in Manchester, Atlético did not hide in a cave. Instead, he positioned his defensive line quite far away from his own goal and also made attempts to enter the opponent’s penalty area. With their passes, the hosts were primarily looking for their Portuguese striker João Félix, so that he could let creativity shine through. Of course, the new orientation did not mean that one wanted or could discuss City’s monopolistic claim to the ball. On the other hand, Atlético didn’t miss out on one of its fundamental traits: Aggressiveness was lived out at the limit.
Shortly after the German national player Ilkay Gündogan had fired a first shot in the direction of the Atlético goal (9th), the German referee Daniel Siebert had to interrupt the game for three and a half minutes. The reason: Central defender Felipe rammed his opponent Foden rudely in the air duel.
Foden suffered a laceration on his head, and the Manchester City paramedics put a head bandage on him that was reminiscent of the Dieter Hoeneß turban from the 1982 DFB Cup final. Foden continued to play happily afterwards. The Atlético defender had the headache, not him. He was not directly involved in the greatest chance of the first half: After almost half an hour, the ball was in front of Gündogan’s feet. But the midfielder just hit the post from six yards out and Felipe blocked the follow-up shot.
Otherwise, the game was mainly characterized by the fact that City operated from a great inner calm. Coach Pep Guardiola’s side pushed the ball without haste, apparently to lure Atlético and/or to find cracks in the granite. It was as if they were waiting for the moment when Atlético would start to feel the clock ticking.
Atlético is getting closer and closer to the goal – but City can clear several times at the last second
After half-time, Atlético actually took a step forward. Two minutes after the restart, Antoine Griezmann made a first statement of intent when he penetrated the penalty area after a spectacular deep pass from captain Koke, but only hit the side netting. In the 57th minute, Atlético had their biggest chance to date, this time with a long-range shot from Griezmann from 18 meters that narrowly missed the left post.
Shortly thereafter, Pep Guardiola was forced to change his flagship. Kevin De Bruyne signed off with right calf complaints and was replaced by Raheem Sterling. The Belgian looked unhappy. Atlético coach Simeone then saw the moment to release the handbrake: he brought in Correa, Carrasco and De Paul. Matheus Cunha and Luis Suárez followed with ten minutes to go. For a wild final phase.
Atlético pushed City into their own half – and had a great chance through Cunha. Correa dropped a long ball into the penalty area. But City defender Stone got his foot in Cunha’s shot. Before there could be any further chances, the game was about to degenerate into a mass brawl. After Foden rolled on the ground on the touchline, Savic ran towards the Englishman and tried to roll him off the field. All players rushed towards each other and formed into a ball that could hardly be straightened out. In the end, referee Siebert dismissed central defender Felipe with a yellow-red card. Football was played again, but Atlético’s striker Correa didn’t aim accurately enough. But it remained 0-0, which wasn’t enough for Atlético.
