Deflated. Disappointed. Dejected. The feelings of Manchester United fans as Atletico Madrid win 1-0 at Old Trafford to knock the Red Devils out of the Champions League. Here are five things that we learnt watching such a disheartening result unfold.
Jekyll and Hyde United Performance
The performance that we saw from Manchester United felt typical of these players this season. A first half performance that was promising and looking like a solid platform to build on, until we conceded. And then a second half performance that provided very little hope of getting back into the game.
I thought that we looked really good in the opening ten to fifteen minutes of the game. We had the majority of possession and looked sharp. There were some really nice passages of play, good runs in behind and we looked to be on top of them. There were a couple of good chances from Elanga early on in the game. The one that just seemed to hit Jan Oblak in the face. It looked really promising early on. But then typically, the rest of the team was let down by the defence and a poor second half that followed meant we never looked like getting back into the game. A lack of consistency has let us down all season and this game was no different.
Defensive switch off
Again another typical trait for this Manchester United team. The inability to keep a clean sheet. We all knew that the first goal in this game was going to be crucial. And when we came out of the blocks so well, I was hopeful that we might get the first goal and be able to see out the game. But more fool me for thinking so positively of this team.
The goal itself was another comedy of errors it seemed. We went from being in their attacking third with Elanga not getting the foul to conceding a goal in the space of less than a minute. A through ball and then a switch out wide for the ball to be crossed into the box by Antoine Griezmann for what has to be said was a good finish from Renan Lodi. But, players could be better. David de Gea could’ve come out and claimed the ball rather than being planted to his line. Diogo Dalot seemed to be caught completely unaware of Lodi coming in behind him. And Anthony Elanga should’ve tracked his man better who ended up being the goalscorer.
Referees
The refereeing decisions tonight did not help what was already becoming one of the most frustrating matches I’ve watched in a long time. It seemed that nearly every 50/50 decision was going in favour of Simeone’s side. The way that the visitors were playing in the second half, I was amazed that they only got two bookings.
There were several bigger incidents as well. There potentially could’ve been a penalty awarded for the tackle on Bruno Fernandes early in the first half. Arguably there were two fouls that could’ve been given in the build up to the Atletico goal. The challenge on Elanga and then the one on Fred. At the end of the day, you are always going to come up against an inconsistent referee. And Manchester United should be able to get past that. But when the margins of a game are this tight, it just becomes another thing that doesn’t go United’s way.
Tactical difference
The second half of the game really highlighted the difference in class and tactical setup of these two teams. We knew exactly what was coming when we conceded first. A typical Diego Simeone second half followed. They were absolutely unbearable. Their ability to use every trick in the book to buy the foul and take the clock down further was infuriating.
And then on the opposite end of infuriating, we had a United second-half performance where we had one shot on target. Not good enough in the slightest. A lot of times when we got the ball out wide, the players just whipped a hopeful cross in that the Madrid centre-backs were more than happy to deal with. There seemed like a lack of the link-up play that we saw glimpses of in the first half. And then the substitutions really didn’t offer a lot. Edinson Cavani decided to show up and didn’t really offer a lot only having five touches of the ball. I thought Rashford looked really poor, whenever he got the ball he looked like he had no confidence to go past his man.
As we’ve been saying, this isn’t even a vintage Atletico team. They were very much beatable here. Manchester United just lacked the quality to punish them. And with the tactical nous of Simeone, them getting 1-0 up was realistically always going to be game over.
What next?
With so much riding on this game, this will feel like a season over for a lot of fans. Knocked out of both domestic cup competitions in the early stages. Going out of the Champions League in the first knockout round. Top four seemingly gone or at least very unlikely. This definitely feels like a season to forget, and that is putting it nicely.
The questions will undoubtedly now turn to what comes next? You can guarantee that now that both Pochettino and ten Haag have been knocked out of the Champions League, rumours surrounding the next Manchester United manager will increase. And don’t worry when things don’t work out for whoever comes next, we will all be here to go through the same inevitable cycle in two years time.