Madrid, Atlético Madrid wasn’t making any excuses for the overly defensive style it used in the first leg against Manchester City in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Championship League last night.
Coach Diego Simeone and his players were actually proudly defending it.
Atlético held back from the start against Pep Guardiola’s team in Manchester, conceding a second-half goal that sealed a 1-0 result ahead of the second leg in Madrid next week.
Guardiola showed his frustration after the game, saying that finding spaces against teams set up like Atlético was hard no matter whether the match was played “many years ago, now or in the future.”
Guardiola complained of the difficulties breaking through the two lines of five players that Simeone used on defense to keep Man City from getting near Atlético’s goal.
Man City ended with 15 total attempts, though only two were on target, including Kevin De Bruyne’s 70th-minute goal.
Atlético had not attempts and only about 30% of ball possession.
Atlético will need to score at least once at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in the second leg against Man City next week to keep alive its hopes of winning the European competition for the first time after several close calls in the recent past.
Source: Oman News Agency