Towards the end, the boring Atletico of fame appeared as Angel Correa hit the ball in the face of a jack Jack Grialis, causing Guardiola to push Atletico’s No. 10, although the Catalan escaped the blame. Sime Vrsaljko was held for Grealish’s fall and there will be more ridiculousness on the part of Diego Simeone when they seek to reverse the deficit in eight days. Here, Guardiola just made the right choice – though only after Foden showed up 80 seconds before creating De Bruyne’s winner. The manager had joked about “thinking too much” in a speech before the game with a burst marked with a point he thought was relevant: that he was obliged to tease tactics and staff – the prevailing critique aimed at – when the competition reaches this stage due to the different nature of the opponent. Guardiola’s choice was therefore eagerly awaited. It was in this light that the rejection of Fontaine – who had started five of City’s eight Champions League games – caught the eye. Simeone, who found the task more difficult than defeating Manchester United in the previous round, could be happy that his team fired a first salvo. Felix turned almost halfway and made a pass behind Nathan Ake for Lorente to run. João Cancelo was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Geoffrey Kondogbia was fouled. Moments later, the Portuguese left a shot of 25 yards that was repulsed and made Atletico climb the area before Felipe cleared. Weekly Football Weekly
Double despair for Chelsea and Allison in Wonderland – Football Weekly
Sorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download it here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/2020/05/05-61553-gnl.fw.200505.jf.ch7DW.mp3 Whatever possession Atletico had was thrown away, much to the dismay of Simeone, who realized that the merchandise was valuable. This was underlined when, after the transfer of the ball, a cross by Cancello for Ilkay Gudogan, then an attempt by De Bruyne, threatened the home of Jan Oblak. City was in a state of attack, Atletico was stuck. When Rahim Sterling fell after a muscle run and Bernardo Silva picked up the ball, he suffered the same – in the area against Koke – the Portuguese mourned Istvan Kovacs by blocking his penalty appeal. Guardiola and Simeone – in almost identical coats – were each unhappy: City’s No. 1 perhaps for some unsolved geometric miscalculation. his opponent for pointless sloppiness on the ball, Llorente the last culprit in a mistake that allowed De Bruyne to hit it, Gündogan close again. Diego Simeone (left) and Pep Guardiola push for space on the contact line. Photo: Tom Jenkins / The Guardian Atletico are the kings of the counter, so Guardiola was furious when Felix was able to break along the left before being flooded by a flood of blue jerseys. An enjoyable Koke backflick that released Félix was another warning from the Spanish champions. A push and a push had entered the competition. Emotions, touches, finding vital inches: they were all executed in a polished, computer game mode. It was the expected match: City dominate against Atletico’s wisdom, the home team enjoys 75.6% possession. The closing phase of the half was held in a rattle. The sight of Rodrigo hitting the ball in a red and white striped shirt at 30 yards was a compliment to the work done by Simeone’s men so far. And also, when John Stones slapped a pass straight out. After De Bruyne went down to the area with Felipe watching closely, the spot-kick was again rejected by the referee. So at the break he was flat and well prepared. Gudogan’s shot that was repulsed suggests that City’s plan to ask more questions would continue. Griezmann’s break from the resulting corner and running at 50 yards until he sprayed the ball wildly, matched the standard. Simeone attacks to launch when the time comes. However, they failed with another break, when Llorente ran back, but hit Ederson and not Félix. The Fiver: sign up and receive our daily football email. City were torn off by de Bruyne, sending Oblak to climb along the turf to his left to save a foul as Atletico’s wall – Felix the main culprit – broke badly. Sterling then fired a cross from the left, but Silva, the fake 9, and no other teammate was able to stab him. Griezmann’s last act was a foul by Silva as Simeone made a triple substitution – Koke and Lorente also left as Korea, Rodrigo de Paul and Mateusz Cunha entered. Atletico had softened City. The game is broken. Even de Bruyne fell flat instead of using the usual winged brush. But now came Guardiola’s decisive move: Grealish, Gabriel Jesus and Foden went into battle and the dividend was paid. The young man found a calm place and De Bruyne, who did not give any chance to Oblak. If there is a surprise, Fontaine was sent off for this first leg, the feeling will intensify if Guardiola does the same for the return. This is not the time to think too much.
