Manchester City 1-0 Atlético: De Bruyne gives City advantage
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Article summary
Kevin De Bruyne struck in the second half as Manchester City finally broke down a stubborn Atlético to claim a narrow lead in the first leg of their quarter-final.
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Article body
Kevin De Bruyne scored the only goal to give Manchester City a slender first-leg win against a typically stubborn Atlético side in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final between the champions of England and Spain.
Key moments
55' Oblak keeps out De Bruyne's free-kick
63' Laporte heads over from six metres
70' De Bruyne fires in only goal
Match in brief: Foden makes instant impact
City dominated possession in the first half – with 70% of the ball – but neither side registered an effort on target in the opening period.
The home team had more clear chances after the break, De Bruyne's free-kick stopped by Jan Oblak, who then cleared the loose ball with Rodri closing in, before Aymeric Laporte headed over from a corner.
Both sides made a triple substitution and City's had an instant impact as one of the replacements, Phil Foden, immediately played in De Bruyne for the opener.
That proved to be the only goal on a night of few chances, as City take a narrow lead to Spain for next week's second leg.
PlayStation® Player of the Match: Kevin De Bruyne (Man. City)
"In a game that was suffocated in the first half with slow build-up and poor shot options, he looked most likely to provide an assist. In the second half, his positional play was excellent, his awareness when scoring was the key to opening Atlético's defence, and the finish was top drawer."
UEFA Technical Observer panel
Matthew Howarth, Manchester City reporter
City fans and players alike had to endure 70 minutes of intense frustration before Kevin De Bruyne finally broke the deadlock. There's no denying Pep Guardiola's side deserved the victory on the balance of play, but they were made to work ever so hard by a typically industrious, disciplined and resilient Atleti. Diego Simeone's charges will now need to show more ambition in the return leg to overturn the deficit, which should leave gaps for City to exploit.
Graham Hunter, Atlético reporter
If some critics thought Atleti were lambs to the slaughter against a rampant, clever, mobile City side then the general pattern of this match defied the assumed logic. Not by any stretch a strategy designed to thrill but effective, patently the result of repetitive hard work in training – but has it been enough to build a platform for the second leg? Atleti don't simply have to overturn this deficit – they have to cope with facing a City side who are devastating on the counterattack. There may be trouble ahead.
Reaction
Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City midfielder, speaking to BT Sport: "The first half was tight, in the second half we had a couple of chances and it was good that we took one. I made the run and Phil [Foden] found me perfectly, I needed to stay composed and luckily I did. We have to stay composed. 1-0 is 1-0. I expect similar over there. If the game is tight they will have to attack a little bit more."
Rio Ferdinand, BT Sport
"City were tested – can you break down what's in front of you? It didn't work in the first half but they didn't give up."
Jan Oblak, Atlético goalkeeper: "We all knew that this would be a complicated experience. We came looking for a good result, we lost but at 1-0 down the tie is still very much all to play for. We defended really well throughout the match with the sole exception of their goal. City play using possession as a strength but we were clear headed all night, we closed space down and I don't think it was specifically their substitutions that changed the game – just that one moment."
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City manager, speaking to BT Sport: "We played an incredible top side who are difficult to face, but it is a good result. We had chances to score a second and third. The guys were playing well but with Gabriel [Jesus] coming inside it gave us special energy, and with Jack [Grealish] to keep the ball. The manager is so clever."
Diego Simeone, Atlético manager: "A good performance against an extraordinary team which manages to unite lots of world class footballers into a superb unit. We wanted to defend well, squeeze spaces and hit them on the counterattack. But just as we looked like creating our best opportunities they scored."
Key stats
- Eight of Kevin De Bruyne's 11 goals in the UEFA Champions League have been scored in knockout games – including his last six.
- Atlético have only scored one goal in their last four trips to England, which was in the last round at Manchester United
- City won 1-0 at home in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 22 games, most recently beating Feyenoord by the same scoreline in 2017.
Fantasy star performers
Kevin De Bruyne – 11
Aymeric Laporte – 8
Nathan Aké – 8
Line-ups
Manchester City: Ederson; João Cancelo, Stones, Laporte, Aké; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gündoğan (Foden 68); Mahrez (Jesus 68), Sterling (Grealish 68), Bernardo Silva.
Atlético: Oblak; Vrsaljko, Felipe, Savić, Reinildo, Renan Lodi; Marcos Llorente (Matheus Cunha 60), Kondogbia, Koke (De Paul 60); João Félix (Lemar 81), Griezmann (Correa 60).