UEFA Champions League: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Bayern Munich - Player ratings

Simeone saw his side pick up a win in the first leg

Atletico Madrid pipped Bayern Munich 1-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals, thanks to a brilliant solo goal from Saul Niguez. The Spaniard skillfully danced his way through the Bayern defense and put the ball past Manuel Neuer with a world-class finish.

Atletico managed to keep Bayern at bay in a fantastic tactical battle as they stayed compact and essentially cancelled out Bayern’s attacks. The Rojiblancos had a chance to score late in the game through Fernando Torres, who deceived David Alaba with his touch and whipped a shot with the outside of his boot, only to see it hit the far post.

The visitors did create a few chances of their own, a couple of them from distance as David Alaba unleashed a powerful strike from 30 yards out that had Jan Oblak beaten but hit the underside of the crossbar.

Here’s how each player fared in the match:

Atletico Madrid

Jan Oblak - 7.5/10

Atletico Madrid’s goalkeeper Jan Oblak had a busy night as he was tested time and again. The Slovenian always seemed to make the right decision as he charged ahead to claim the ball right when Bayern looked dangerous after going a goal down in the early stages of the game. Oblak had to deal with a couple of good strikes from distance, the first of which had him well beaten.

Juanfran - 7/10

The right-back was kept on his toes by Douglas Costa. The Spanish national also contained David Alaba, who looked to expand Bayern’s attacking options on the overlap. Juanfran sat back and defended well, seldom going ahead on the counter-attack.

Jose Gimenez - 8/10

Gimenez linked up well with fellow centre-half Stefan Savic to keep the Bavarians at bay. The defender cleared the ball off the line as Bayern looked to equalise through Arturo Vidal’s header right after going down. Gimenez also timed his tackle to perfection as he prevented Kingsley Coman from squaring the ball in for his teammates in the penalty area.

Stefan Savic - 8/10

Savic’s performance was instrumental in keeping Robert Lewandowski silent during the ninety minutes. The defender carefully isolated the forward from his teammates, robbing him of the services he so desperately needed.

Filipe Luis - 8.5/10

The attacking full-back was active on both sides of the field as he contained Kingsley Coman and Philipp Lahm well. Luis also created a chance for Atletico to double their lead as he whipped in a pin-point cross into the box which was flicked on towards the goal by Koke, just to be headed out of play by Javi Martinez.

Saul Niguez - 8.5/10

Saul scored the only goal of the game

Niguez helped Atletico take the lead with a brilliant run which tore Bayern’s defence apart and a finish so perfect that there was nothing that the world’s best keeper could do to keep the ball out. The midfielder showed an exceptional work-rate as he covered territory and tracked back quite whenever his team needed him.   

Gabi - 7/10

The midfielder took on a more defensive role as he stayed solid and won back possession for his team on quite a few occasions. Gabi cut out Bayern’s attacks with a set of crucial blocks and interceptions. He didn’t contribute much when his side was in possession though.

Augusto Fernandez - 9/10

Fernandez had a good game as he disturbed Bayern’s flow of play time and again. He was extremely committed during the entire course of the game. Fernandez could be seen everywhere on the pitch as he cut out passes and put his body on the line to block shots. This was surely one of his best performances for the Madrid side.

Koke - 6/10

Koke had an on and off performance as he was brilliant with the ball at his feet but failed to complete crucial passes. The Spaniard’s set-piece delivery was also quite poor by his standards. Despite all that, the midfielder’s commitment was quite visible through his exceptional work rate.

Fernando Torres - 7/10

El Nino was unlucky as he should have gotten on the scoresheet. The forward’s touch to deceive David Alaba and the shot that had Neuer well beaten could only find the woodwork. Torres tirelessly pressed high up the pitch but his poor first touch prevented him from capitalizing on opportunities.

Antoine Griezmann - 7/10

The Frenchman was quick on the break. He charged forward in the second half before releasing Torres, who could only hit the post. Griezmann was lively throughout the game and also forced Neuer into a good save in the first half.

Substitutes:

Thomas Partey - 6/10

Partey came on for Saul in the dying minutes of the match. The Ghanaian provided some more running in the middle of the park.