Atletico Madrid proved there’s life left in La Liga yet when they knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening, winning the tie 2-1 on aggregate.
Los Rojiblancos had outplayed the Premier League side in the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano but only managed to come away with a 1-1 draw. Joao Felix had given them the lead only for Anthony Elanga to equalise for United inside the final ten minutes.
But no such equaliser came on Tuesday. This time it was Brazilian wing-back Renan Lodi who scored the decisive goal, scoring a back-post header four minutes before the half-time break.
The result is huge for Atletico given how trying their season has been. Despite their status as La Liga champions they’ve failed to impress and find themselves battling for a place in the top four rather than the title. But now, thanks to a tough and resilient performance, they can dream of European glory.
“In the second half I don’t know if two minutes were played without any Atletico player on the ground,” Ralf Rangnick said post-match in comments carried by Marca. “There were some curious decisions taken by the referee and the four minutes of added time were a joke.
“[Atletico] have been playing like this for ten years, it’s the way they play. It was more important to avoid conceding than scoring. Atletico plays in the Champions League with that style of football and it’s not easy [to play against]. I think we played a good first half, we tried to play as we had planned but it didn’t work out. We shouldn’t have been losing at the break. There was a foul in the buildup to the goal but the referee didn’t see it the same way.”
