Atletico Madrid proved there’s life left in La Liga yet when they knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening, winning the tie 2-1 on aggregate.
Los Rojiblancos had outplayed the Premier League side in the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano but only managed to come away with a 1-1 draw. Joao Felix had given them the lead only for Anthony Elanga to equalise for United inside the final ten minutes.
But no such equaliser came on Tuesday. This time it was Brazilian wing-back Renan Lodi who scored the decisive goal, scoring a back-post header four minutes before the half-time break.
The result is huge for Atletico given how trying their season has been. Despite their status as La Liga champions they’ve failed to impress and find themselves battling for a place in the top four rather than the title. But now, thanks to a tough and resilient performance, they can dream of European glory.
“We’re very disappointed with the result,” David de Gea said post-match in comments carried by Marca. “It’s hard to put into words how we feel at the moment. We didn’t do enough across the two games to make it through. It’s a very disappointing day for us. They’re a team with a lot of experience.
“They know how to play these games. They score a goal and then they’re a team that’s difficult to create chances against. As soon as they scored we knew they were going to put their entire team in front of [Jan] Oblak. They’re very defensive. We tried until the end but it wasn’t enough.”
