“Satanism football to another level” – Fans accuse Atletico Madrid of deploying ’10-0-0’ system against Manchester City in Champions League

The ball has rarely left the Atletico half of the field, with City continuously trying to break down the La Liga side. City fans aren't pleased with how Atletico Madrid have set up, accusing the reigning Spanish champions of deploying a '10-0-0' formation.

In years past, you would not have associated a Spanish side with setting up in the manner they have, which is more similar to that of a defensive Premier League team.

But Diego Simeone's men have left no gaps between defenders with Manchester City looking increasingly irritated by the difficult task of breaking through the defense.

Fans watching are also seemingly irritated by the formation deployed by the Spanish side and have reacted on Twitter:

Manchester City could be hit on the counter by Atletico Madrid

Restricted to their own half for the majority of the game, Atletico Madrid do pose a threat on the counter. Simeone's side have looked dangerous each time they've broken against the run of play.

With Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann up front, there is always the risk of being hit on the break.

The duo have looked lively when in possession, which has been a rarity, so City will need to ensure that they're not vulnerable whilst putting pressure on the Atleti defense.

But every Atletico Madrid player looks assured, they know their role and they are keeping the Cityzens at bay.

Atletico knocked City's neighbors Manchester United out of the last round in what was a similar sort of set-up during the second-leg.

Manchester City will be wary of the way in which the tide can just suddenly turn, with Simeone a master in stealing a victory.

At the time of writing, both teams are still locked at 0-0 with just under 30 minutes of normal time left at the Etihad Stadium.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

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A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

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