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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.
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.
Apart from the assist, Fernandes produced two key passes, attempted two tackles, and performed two clearances.
Underperformed: Paul Pogba
Following his return from injury, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has been performing consistently for the Red Devils in the Premier League. Last night in the Champions League, he went up against one of the most dogged teams in the business and got a harsh reality check.
Atletico’s midfielders did not let Pogba settle on the ball, pressing him out of play every time he touched it. The former Juventus man only achieved 76.3 percent passing accuracy on the night, which was sub-par for a player of his caliber.
He failed to attempt even a single shot, lost nine ground duels, and lost possession 17 times.
The Frenchman was outsmarted, outmuscled, and outplayed by the Atletico players, and was ultimately taken off just past the hour mark.
Performed: Anthony Elanga
Nineteen-year-old Anthony Elanga was undoubtedly Manchester United’s standout performer on Wednesday night. While the likes of Marcus Rashford struggled to take the fight to Atletico, the fearless teenager got to work right away.
His direct approach and willingness to get on the scoresheet paid dividends just five minutes after he was introduced, courtesy of Fernandes’ slide-rule pass.
Latching on to Fernandes’ ball from midfield, Elanga kept his cool to place his shot across goal, beating Atletico keeper Jan Oblak comprehensively.
Elanga’s performance against Atletico should serve as a wake-up call for the players above him in the pecking order.
Their continuous failure in the biggest matches might compel Rangnick to give Elanga a place in the starting XI, sooner rather than later.
Underperformed: Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo, the top goalscorer (804 goals) in the history of the sport, locked horns with a familiar foe on Wednesday night. Atletico Madrid, a team he has scored two Champions League hat-tricks against, were once again standing in his way in his favorite competition.
The world held its breath in anticipation of seeing Ronaldo weave his magic in Manchester United’s colors. Sadly, all the Portuguese could manage was repeated grunts of desperation.
Diego Simeone’s plan was as simple as they come. He isolated the Portuguese superstar, making sure no United player could feed him with inviting balls in and around the area. Without proper supply, Ronaldo failed to trouble Los Rojiblancos’ defense, registering zero shots on target (two attempts).
He also did not register a single key pass, lost all three of his aerial duels, and rarely popped up in threatening areas.
It was one of the 37-year-old’s most disappointing performances for the Red Devils this season.
