5 Manchester United players who underperformed against Atletico Madrid | UEFA Champions League Round of 16
Premier League giants Manchester United endured a gut-wrenching 0-1 defeat in their Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night. The loss at Old Trafford saw them crash out of the tournament with a 1-2 aggregate scoreline, ending their hopes of winning a trophy this season.
Having played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium last month, United came into the return leg as marginal favorites. Unfortunately, they once again fell to a first-half Atletico Madrid strike. But this time, they could not find it in themselves to score an equalizer.
First-leg hero Anthony Elanga came close to opening the scoring for United after 13 minutes of play. Sadly for the home supporters, the youngster dispatched his effort straight at Atletico Madrid stopper Jan Oblak.
Three minutes later, Rodrigo de Paul forced an excellent save out of David de Gea at the other end of the pitch. Joao Felix then found the back of the net in the 34th minute, but VAR ruled it out.
Four minutes before the half-time break, Renan Lodi headed the visitors in front, connecting with Antoine Griezmann’s curling cross at the back post.
A minute into the second half, Elanga once again had an opportunity to hit the back of the net. Unfortunately, the 19-year-old failed to keep his low drive on target.
13 minutes later, Jadon Sancho dispatched a sweet volley but could not keep it on target. Ralf Rangnick brought in Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, and Marcus Rashford to freshen things up, but the trio could not make a tangible impact.
Raphael Varane came agonizingly close to leveling the scoreline in the 77th minute, but Oblak parried his goalbound header away, courtesy of his razor-sharp reflexes.
Atletico held on for the remaining time and managed the game well to see out the tie and progress to the quarter-finals.
Here are five players who failed to live up to their billing as Manchester United crashed out of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night:
#5 Harry Maguire
Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire once again cut a shaky figure at the back. He looked uncomfortable in possession and could not manage to lead the line with authority.
The captain was also caught out of possession in the build-up to Atletico's goal, highlighting his poor sense of positioning. He once passed the ball back to De Gea from inside his own box after unnecessarily keeping possession, puting the keeper in a very uncomfortable position.
I don’t blame Harry Maguire because he keeps getting selected. He’s just not good enough. #MUFC https://t.co/FQwe0thBGj
The Englishman won one ground duel, lost possession eight times and committed two fouls before being subbed out in favor of Juan Mata in the 84th minute.
#4 Diogo Dalot
Playing as a right-back, Diogo Dalot was required to strike the perfect balance between attack and defense on such an important night.
He did well as an attack-minded full-back, taking the fight to the opposition every chance he got. Unfortunately, he fluffed his lines when it came to keeping it tight at the back.
Dalot was getting booed by Milan fans and United made him a starting RB lol, shocking.
The Portuguese lost Lodi at the back post in the 41st minute, allowing the Atletico left-midfielder to apply the finishing touches.
Maguire's wayward positioning did not help his case, of course, but fans United fans expected better from their talented right-back.
Dalot lost possession lost 16 times, committed four fouls (booked once), and lost five ground duels.