On Tuesday, March 15th, 2022 Manchester United was ultimately defeated by Atletico Madrid with a final tally of 1 to 0. This loss knocked out Manchester United from the Champions League competition.
Manchester United’s drought for a championship goes for 5 – seasons now, and that is far below the club’s standards.
This was a close and highly – contested match, and Renan Lodi made the difference in the game by scoring his 1st – goal in the competition during his 25th appearance in Champions League match play. Lodi met up with Antoine Griezmann’s cross with a nice header following him being unmarked at the far post as the Manchester United defender, Diogo Dalot, made that crucial mistake during the 41st minute of the contest.
“I wasn’t playing a few months ago, but everything has changed now and I’m very happy with that,” says Lodi. “It’s a tough role. I’m working at it, learning.”
“Of course, it’s not good enough,” De Gea explained. “It’s hard for the club, for us and the fans. This is where we are at the moment. It is a difficult situation, but we have to keep fighting.”
Cristiano Ronaldo departed the historic and legendary Old Trafford Stadium prior to Ferguson retiring. The 37 – year – old superstar striker returned for this season following him winning titles at both Real Madrid as well as Juventus, and his expectations for him are sky high as Manchester United is trying to return to the dominance they used to be accustomed to.
Ronaldo had a poor performance in this match not like his efforts last Saturday when he recorded a hat trick versus Tottenham Hotspur. Cristiano didn’t even manage a get a single shot off versus against the Spanish LaLiga League champions in Atletico Madrid.
Manchester United only hope of equalizing were on their defender, Raphaël Varane, who had a solid scoring opportunity during the 2nd – half of the contest, but his header was saved by Jan Atletico Madrid’s goal – tender, Oblak. Man U could not find a path to beating Atletico’s amazing goalkeeper just 3 – weeks following a 1 to 1 draw in Madrid that amounted to nothing as away – goals no longer provide any advantage.
“For me, Oblak is the best goalkeeper in the world,” Atlético Madrid’s captain Koke stated. “He’s shown it once again tonight.”
Atlético Madrid was super – efficient as they scored a goal from 1 of only 3 – shots on goal throughout the match.
“We suffered when we had to,” Rodrigo De Paul mentioned, “and hit when we had the chance here at a great stadium, against a great team.”
Diego Simeone leads Atlético Madrid back into the Champions League quarterfinals just like he did back in 2020.
“We wanted to show tonight that we’re a really tough side to play against,” says Griezmann. “We wanted to be at this level more consistently and go forward.”
Manchester United is heading in the wrong direction, with just 2 – appearances in the Champions League quarterfinals over the course of the last decade.
Not since the 1970’s has Man U gone this long without a championship with the 2nd – tier Europa League title back in 2017.
“The second half was difficult,” Ralf Rangnick expressed. “I don’t think the game went for more than three minutes, it was always interrupted, there was always somebody lying on the floor.
“There were also some curious refereeing decisions. I wouldn’t say they were decisive, but at least he fell too often for those time-wasting antics and, in the end, four minutes extra time was a joke for me.”
Now the priority for Man U is just trying to move back in to the 4th – place spot in the English Premier League, and return to the Champions League next season for whoever is in charge of Manchester United.
Sources:
Harris, Rob. “5 – season drought: Man United knocked out of CL by Atlético”. The Associated Press. March 15, 2022.
UEFA News Services. “Champions League – Round of 16 – 2nd Leg”https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/fixtures-results/#/rd/2001309-2. UEFA. March 16, 2022.