Scorer, Ronan Lodie offered on a plate the qualification of the Madrid club for the quarter-finals of the C1. Ronaldo, is him, passed through. Find the Tops and Flops of the European shock.
TOPS
The duo Griezmann-Felix lead Atletico
Antoine Griezmann and Joao Felix had a full match this Tuesday evening at Old Trafford. The doublet hurt the Mancunian defense for a large part of this match. The Portuguese played very fair and could have opened the scoring by being on the receiving end of a center from Llorente (33rd), but the centerer was flagged offside. He was behind the opening of the Colchoneros score with a superb well-felt heel to shift Antoine Griezmann who sent a caviar with his right foot to Lodi who concluded with a header (41e). The two center forwards got along perfectly and came to support their teammates in the defensive phases. Technical accuracy, decisive gestures and a great burst of energy, a full match for the offensive doublet of Colchoneros.
Lodi qualifies the Colchoneros
In a 3-5-2 set up by Diego Simeone, Renan Lodi occupied the position of left piston on Tuesday. A role that the Brazilian played perfectly by multiplying the races forward to occupy his lane. On one of his climbs, the left side was rewarded by being at the conclusion of a superb collective action. He placed a header that deceived De Gea near his right post just before halftime (0-1, 41st). In the second half, he brought a lot defensively, obtaining several free kicks.
An intractable Madrid defense
If Diego Simeone’s men managed to qualify, it was largely thanks to an imperial defense on Tuesday evening. The three centrals, Reinildo, Savic and Gimenez perfectly contained the opposing attackers who had great difficulty approaching Oblak’s goals. Well helped by the pistons and a defensive block well in place, the Madrid defense suffered very few opportunities. And when his defenders were beaten, Jan Oblak was responsible for disgusting the Mancunian attackers by leaving the parades against Elanga (12th), Fernandes (46th) or Varane (77th).
FLOPS
Cristiano Ronaldo factor 0
The top scorer in the history of football is finally eliminated from “his” competition in the round of 16. Faced with a team that has become one of his favorite prey during his career, Cristiano Ronaldo will not have weighed on the match. The Portuguese stalled a lot to be able to touch the ball but was not in a position to be dangerous. Result: no shots, 0 ball hit in the opponent’s area and 0 passes delivered before a shot. Not helped by his teammates who never managed to find him, “CR7” went through an ordeal in the lair of Old Trafford despite the support shown by Reds Devils fans for him.
An offensive animation issue, exemplified by the wingers
Despite a first half generally dominated by the Mancunians, the pressure was not strong enough in the second half to hope to overturn the match and qualify. Bruno Fernandes had very little impact on his team’s game before being replaced by Pogba (67th). But the big offensive lack was felt in the corridors on the side of United. The young Elanga and Jadon Sancho had the greatest difficulty in gaining the upper hand over the opposing full-backs. When they managed to do so, they narrowly missed in their last gesture to catch the frame. Sancho missed a huge chance and his volley went over Oblak’s goal (59′).