The opposition of style between Manchester City and Atlético de Madrid turned in favor of the English, Tuesday, April 5, during the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s men managed to force the Madrid lock thanks to a goal from Kevin De Bruyne (1-0).
Stewed cooking. Chef Guardiola’s recipe has made him internationally famous even though he is looking for his first European star with Manchester City. The Catalan coach had set up his best table for the occasion but Atlético de Madrid prefers the main courses, those which disgust the offensive armadas and impose the best finishes in front of goal. Unsurprisingly, the match turned into an attack-defense. A confrontation with 20 outfield players on a half court, like a game of chess.
True to its offensive precepts, City has tried to pack this first quarter, to vary the approaches. It was long insufficient to move the compact block set up by Diego Simeone. The game was totally locked so that at the break, the English had not framed any of their six shots. It was still six more than Atlético. Such offensive misery which had not happened to them in C1 since the 2003-2004 season … but it was not the priority of the Colchoneros at the Etihad Stadium.
0 – Atlético de Madrid haven’t had a single shot so far tonight, with this the first time they’ve had zero shots in the first half of a #UCL match since game-by-game shot data is available for the competition (2003-04). Attempt. #MCIA™
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 5, 2022
Could this iron discipline last an entire match? To give its defenders a breather and see the color of Ederson’s jersey up close, Atlético took their heads out of their camp a little on the restart. Since the block stretched slightly like the door of a safe, some spaces were finally created on either side. On a counter, Marcos Llorente failed to take advantage of it, as did Ilkay Gündogan for the Cityzens. In five minutes, we had seen more than in the first forty-five, but the result was the same. In this classic of closed matches, a set piece could have paid off. Even there, Jan Oblak was decisive by taking out a free kick from De Bruyne (55th) in two stages.
But like all good recipes, one secret ingredient can change everything and turn an infamous soup into a delicious dish. In City, this X factor is called Phil Foden. The entry of the Mancunian wisp froze the people of Madrid. By his overflows and his initiatives, he brought a danger in the red and white lines. And the magic finally worked. The Englishman drew three players in the middle before throwing De Bruyne in front of Oblak’s goal. Skilled in big matches, the Belgian enhanced this offering by opening the scoring with a cross shot with the flat of the foot (1-0, 70th). “In this kind of match, you have to have patience, not to take too much risk“, explained De Bruyne at the microphone of Canal +. “The first half was difficult against almost two lines of five. In the second half we had a few more chances. On purpose, it was a small space. I ran forward and was able to score. It’s rare occasions like that in this kind of match.“
Thanks to the Belgian’s first goal in C1 this season, the lock had jumped. On the bulletin board and in people’s minds. After this goal, Man City continued to whip to double their advantage. De Bruyne was not far from the double on a service from Silva (79th) but he would have to settle for a goal before returning to Madrid. It’s already that.