Man City secured a goalless draw against Atletico in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday to go through to the semi-finals with an aggregate 1-0 win.
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Manchester City produced a disciplined defensive display to secure a fractious 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the champions League quarter-final on Wednesday. The result helped the Premier League side to go through to the final four of the Champions League with a 1-0 aggregate victory. Kevin De Bruyne’s goal at Etihad Stadium last week proved to be the difference in the two-legged tie.
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Enjoy the best of the action from our #UCL quarter-final second leg away to Atletico Madrid! ?
⬇️ HIGHLIGHTS ⬇️
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 13, 2022
Meanwhile tensions boiled over in the closing stages at Wanda Metropolitano and Atletico defender Feilpe was sent off after receiving two yellow cards before the teams played out 12 minutes of added time.
The back four of Man city along with defensive midfielder Rodri were brilliant on the night to thwart Atletico Madrid’s intense and physical game. Centre-back John Stones was the star performer alongside Aymeric Laporte. Stones was calm when needed, aggressive, won everything in the air and was the most authoritative member of Man City’s back four. Moreover, the 27-year-old was positionally sound when full-back Kyle Walker was out of position.
On the other hand, his centre-back partner Laporte also had a solid game. The Spaniard wasn’t at his best when it comes to ball distribution but he was solid in one-on-one situations. He made an impressive five recoveries and three clearances.
Man City’s team is built to attack and doing the defensive duties for a long period of time doesn’t come naturally to them. Despite registering just one shot on target on Wednesday, Guardiola’s side had the majority of ball possession and managed to go forward whenever possible.
The full-backs often join the attacks and that leaves space on the flanks which needs to be covered by the defensive midfielder. Rodri did his job with supreme professionalism. Apart from covering the full-backs, he was also commanding the midfield.
The Spaniard completed 90% of his passes and made five recoveries and three clearances. He sat in front of the back four and literally bossed midfield in the first half.
After the break, backed by fierce support inside the Wanda Metroploitano, Atletico came out all guns blazing. But the visitors stood firm to keep a clean sheet. Guardiola lauded Atletico’s second-half performance.
The Spanish tactician said: “We cannot expect every time to make everything marvellous. We have to suffer. I am proud because the opponent (Atletico) was really good.
“We tried to take the ball but were not able to. With the people and chances they had, they could have scored a goal.”
Man City had a huge chance to put the tie beyond Atletico’s reach in stoppage time but Ilkay Gundogan’s effort was kept out by Jan Oblak before a host of crucial tackles and saves by the visiting defenders at the death kept the score goalless.
Guardiola added: “They pushed us a lot, they were excellent in the second-half,. We forgot to play and we were in big, big trouble. They had chances to score, the second half, we had just one.”
