Manchester United and Atletico Madrid played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 fixture at the Wanda Metropolitano. With the away goals rule scrapped, the two will have to find an extra goal in the return leg to progress into the next round.
Felix nets his first
Joao Felix opened the scoring for Diego Simeone’s men early in the game, nodding in a bullet header from close range which left David De Gea no chance. This is the first Champions League goal for the 22-year-old this season, and it came in their most important fixture yet. He was also named the man of the match for his display.
Manchester United no-shows
Despite featuring a strong starting XI, the visitors found it difficult to get things going. Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane in particular had very poor outings in Madrid. There were a number of lapses from all the players, and they weren’t able to influence the game much.
Super-sub Elanga
Anthony Elanga has scored after coming off the bench for the second time in the last two games, scoring in the 80th minute to deny Atletico the advantage in the second leg. He was assisted by Bruno Fernandes, finding the youngster on the break to level things up.
Will history repeat itself?
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid have a history of being knocked out by Cristiano Ronaldo’s team. And while the five time Ballon d’Or winner hasn’t scored or assisted in the first leg, he could turn things around in the second. But with Manchester United’s current form, Simeone has a chance to finally get the better of his old nemesis as well.
