A wondergoal from Saul Niguez in the 12th minute gave Atletico Madrid a vital 1-0 win in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich. The visitors came close to an equalizer multiple times in the second half, hitting the woodwork along the way, but Atletico held on for the victory, giving them the advantage going into the second leg.
Here is how various pundits, players and managers reacted after yesterday’s match:
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone was very happy with his side’s performance. Speaking to Atletico Madrid’s official website, he said:
"This result gives us the chance of going to Munich with possibilities. In the first half, we did what we set out to do, while in the second half, they were closer to what they sought at the start."
He was also full of praise for Saul’s wonder goal.
"I was in a diagonal to the play. It seems he comes very well out of the first dribble, which gives him the strength to keep carrying. I didn’t see much more, but I imagined the shot. The goal makes us very happy because of the play."
Atletico Madrid’s star of the night Saul said that it was the best goal of his career.
"I was carrying, I had dribbled two rivals, and when I was in the box I had already thought of placing it to finish with my good leg and shoot on goal. It is my most important goal and it may be the most beautiful," the midfielder said.
Fernando Torres said to the microphones of BeIN Sports: "It’s been a fantastic night, a great day for the Atléticos. We've played the first part of the knockout round and we have a favourable result," the striker said.
Antoine Griezmann was thrilled with the way Atletico Madrid played:
"We wanted to win without conceding a goal and we succeeded," and he added: "Everyone defended and everyone attacked. This demonstrates our strength and our mentality."
Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola called upon Bayern Munich fans to push his side through to the finals in the second leg. Speaking to Bayern Munich’s official website, he said:
“75 percent of our play was super, the last 20, 25 minutes of the first half and the entire second half. We created enough chances. But at this level, in the Champions League, you need 90 instead of 75 good minutes,
“But we still have 90 minutes, and I hope we'll make it with the support of our fans at the Allianz Arena.”
Captain Philipp Lahm was confident of making a good impression in the second leg:
“We struggled a bit at the beginning. We didn't want to make any mistakes in our build-up play because Atlético are very, very dangerous in terms of switches of play.
“We have 90 more minutes at home. There's a superb atmosphere at the stadium, our crowd will noisily get behind us. We'll go for it from the beginning and try to turn it round.”
Xabi Alonso was not happy with the way Bayern Munich started the game:
“The first 15, 20 minutes weren't so good. It's always difficult to play here. The result could have been better, but I think we can beat them in the return. We're Bayern, we have to fight.”
David Alaba was not happy with the dry turf at the Calderon:
“We didn't get into the game as we had planned. The turf was very, very dry, we struggled with that. In the second half we did much better. We got well into the game then, went for the one-on-ones and tried to go ahead with our play.”
Celebrated journalist Miguel Delaney predicted what would happen in the La Liga and Champions League.
As always Piers Morgan was gunning for Arsene Wenger.
The tie is poised tantalisingly and Bayern Munich will be hoping to overturn the 1-0 deficit at the Allianz Arena.
