2 Manchester United players who performed and 3 who underperformed against Atletico Madrid | UEFA Champions League Round of 16
Manchester United traveled to the Spanish capital to take on Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 encounter on Wednesday night.
Coming into the high-profile encounter on the back of two consecutive Premier League wins, the visitors were hoping to get the better of Los Rojiblancos. Unfortunately for the traveling fans, United rarely impressed with their work on the ball and were undeniably fortunate to return with a respectable 1-1 scoreline.
Eager to put their domestic struggles in the rearview mirror, Diego Simeone’s men started the game with power and precision. They pegged back Ralf Rangnick’s side effortlessly and got their opener after just seven minutes of play.
Renan Lodi put in an inviting cross into the area and Joao Felix cleverly applied the finishing touch. After getting their much-deserved opener, Atletico ceded possession to United and were happy to observe the hosts from their own half. Manchester United looked clueless in possession and could not get themselves into threatening areas in the first 45.
Things improved ever so slightly for the Red Devils in the second half and they started to string a few passes together. But their goal did not come until the final stretch of the match. Substitute Anthony Elanga found himself at the end of a rare United counter-attack and calmly applied the finishing touch in the 80th minute to save his team’s blushes.
Here are two Manchester United players who produced the goods when it mattered and three who went missing on a difficult night in Madrid:
Underperformed: Victor Lindelof
To everyone’s surprise, Ralf Rangnick decided to use Victor Lindelof as a right-back against Atletico Madrid.
In the end, it turned out to be a failed experiment, as most of Atletico’s attacks came through that channel.
Victor Lindelof’s game by numbers vs Atletico Madrid (66 mins):
94% pass accuracy
50% long balls completed (2/4)
50% crosses completed (1/2)
3 fouls committed
3 clearances
2/7 duels won
2 ball recoveries
1 tackle won
1 block
1 interception
Tough night out of position. 😕 https://t.co/8bG0jSysAF
Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane were guilty of letting Joao Felix slip through the middle for the opener, but Lindelof, too, was at fault.
Instead of anticipating and closing down Lodi’s cross, the Swede simply allowed him acres of space in front.
He also lost five of his seven duels and offered very little going forward.
Performed: Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes struggled profusely in possession against the Spanish champions, but produced a match-saving pass when it mattered the most.
The Portuguese, who had looked lost for most of the night, played an inch-perfect pass in the 80th minute, one which caught the opposition back-peddling. Youngster Anthony Elanga got on the end of it and applied the finishing touch to salvage a draw for the Red Devils.
34 games
9 goals
14 assists
Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved 23 goals in all competitions this season, more than any Man Utd player.
👕 34 games
⚽️ 9 goals
🅰️ 14 assists
Pinpoint pass for Elanga. 🇵🇹🎯 https://t.co/M6hMA0GGkh
Apart from the assist, Fernandes produced two key passes, attempted two tackles, and performed two clearances.