Cholismo was ready to return, but missed his chance. Atlético de Madrid was on the way to rediscovering itself in the greatest of scenarios: joao felix He opened the can at the start and Simeone’s plan disoriented Manchester United, but they let them breathe and ended up paying for it. The team cringed at the restart, a perfect excuse for the youngster Elanga find the tie. Vrsaljko and Griezmann shot the crossbar.
ATM
MAN
Athletic
Oblak; Savic, Gimenez, Reinildo; Vrsaljko, Llorente, Kondogbia, Herrera, Lodi (Lemar, 76′); Correa, Joao Felix (Griezmann, 76′).
Man Utd
De Gea; Lindelof (Wan-Bissaka, 66′), Varane, Maguire, Shaw (Telles, 66′); Fred, Pogba (Matic, 66′); Rashford (Elanga, 75′), Bruno Fernanes, Sancho (Lingard, 82′); Cristiano Ronaldo.
goals
1-0 M.7 Joao Felix. 1-1 M.81 Elanga.
Referee
Ovidiu Hategan (Romania). TA: Herrera (45′), Reinaldo (63′), Llorente (77′) and Giménez (78′) / Shaw (50′), Lindelöf (60′), Rashford (65′), Fred (74′) and Telles (83′).
Incidents
Metropolitan. 56,000 spectators.
The draw will leave Rangnick satisfied, more after seeing how it all started. The German coach came out in Madrid with an experiment: Varane entered and three central defenders played, and it took Joao Felix 10 minutes to show that it was a serious mistake. In an excellent shipment from Lodi, the Portuguese slipped between the imposing English centre-backs to head in De Gea’s goal. The ball hit the post before ending up in the net and confirming that Atlético was serious.
The great sin of those of Simeone, in fact, was not delving into the wound. Atlético did not capitalize on possession, but they did not need it. Especially since United was incapable of generating danger with the helm of the duel in their hands. Lodi rode down the lane at ease, faced with Rangnick’s failed experiment in defense. Kondogbia monopolized all the power in the media area, being an octopus for Simeone. And the quality of Joao Félix found time and space in the United mess. Vrsaljko had the best chance to double the lead, but his shot bounced off Lindelof and ended up hitting De Gea’s crossbar.
Cristiano Ronaldo did not even appear. The Portuguese did not create any danger in the first half, and he went into the break furious, complaining to the referee. The image was the living representation of an impotent United, unable to behave like a big team when the stage required it.
However, in the second half the panorama changed. More than for the merit of the English, for fear of Atlético. Simeone’s men took a big step back, driven more by fear of losing than by strategic ability. Cristiano Ronaldo forgave a set piece, but the new colchonero appeared reinildo to give the red devils the boost they needed.
The Brazilian defender rushed to read a pass from Bruno Fernandes, and ate it. shipment left to Elanga to the race. The 19-year-old Swede has been Rangnick’s big bet since his arrival, and he responded to his confidence by netting the equalizer at the Wanda.
The stadium fell silent, and Simeone had to reactivate his team by bringing in Lemar and Griezmann. In fact, he almost gets it right. The ex-Barça striker almost became the hero of the night, but the ball hit the crossbar again to waste a game that Atlético had to win, and ended up resurrecting the worst United.