Atletico Madrid knocked Manchester United out of the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford to seal a 2-1 aggregate victory and progress to the quarter-finals.
Renan Lodi’s goal in the first half won the second leg and eventually equalized, with Atletico relying on a great play from Jan Oblak who also rose to the occasion.
With it, Manchester United’s last hope of silverware this season rises in smoke, and frustration among fans at Old Trafford became apparent as the full-time whistle blew.
Both goalkeepers made top-notch saves in the first 15 minutes only. Anthony Elanga was stopped by Oblak next to him, though the Slovenian giant knew nothing about it as he grabbed him in the face, and David de Gea flew to the right to oust Rodrigo de Paul.
Bruno Fernandes felt that he should have had a penalty after being caught by Reinaldo, but neither the referee nor the VAR felt that way. Not long after that, Atletico got the ball in the net through Joao Felix, but the flag hovered against Marcos Llorente for a stray offside during construction.
Atletico led well, however, when Lodi met a cross from Antoine Griezmann behind the post. Felix’s clever backheel created an opportunity to open up the scattered Frenchman. United protested, feeling that Elanga had been badly offended as Atletico won the other side.
Oblak appeared with the visitors towards the end of the first half, clearing Fernandes’ shot from a distance, before uttering heavy under pressure during the stop.
Despite trailing behind, United played well in the first half and Elanga got the first chance quickly in the second 45 minutes. Jadon Sancho caught a beautiful volley in the penalty area for an hour but could not keep his effort down. there was a whistle on the bar.
As the game progressed, Atletico dominated the game as few others knew.
There came a series of United changes, in which Ralf Rangnick was disappointed to send Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani to the pitch. But as the athletes drew blood, Oblak seemed invincible and performed an amazing rescue reflex on Raphael Varane’s head.
But the equalizer did not arrive and as the game drew to a close, Diego Simeone ran down the aisle to the winner, dodging arrows on the pitch as he walked.
