Manchester United are out of the Champions League after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their round of 16 tie
United had their backs to the wall for much of the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, and they were fortunate to salvage a point when Anthony Elanga’s goal cancelled out Joao Felix’s opening.
The Red Devils, on the other hand, were considerably more up to the task in the second leg at Old Trafford, producing a series of early chances to keep Atletico’s nerves jangling.
In fact, Elanga could have doubled his tally against Los Rojiblancos in the early exchanges, but Jan Oblak’s face prevented his ferocious effort in the penalty area from finding the net.
Despite the fact that United played substantially better than they did in the Spanish capital, with Fred in particular shining brightly, it wasn’t enough to prevent Atletico from breaking the tie.
When a startling piece of marking at the back post allowed Renan Lodi to score, Diego Simeone’s side dealt a crushing hammer blow to United’s ambitions of reaching the quarter-finals.
The ball ultimately made its way to Lodi at the back post, who had all the time in the world to head past David de Gea thanks to a superb team goal from the visitors.
United’s frustrations after halftime, including some harsh exchanges from Cristiano Ronaldo, instantly increased the pressure on them.
In fact, it wasn’t until the closing 15 minutes of the game that the Red Devils created a chance that set the fans’ hearts racing, when Raphael Varane forced a spectacular save from Oblak.
As the time ticked away at Old Trafford, Rangnick threw all he had at trying to save United an extra 30 minutes by putting on Juan Mata and sending De Gea up for the final corner.
However, the hosts just didn’t have a solution for Atletico, and they were eliminated from the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, resulting in another trophyless season.
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