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Premier League giants Manchester United endured a gut-wrenching 0-1 defeat in their Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night. The loss at Old Trafford saw them crash out of the tournament with a 1-2 aggregate scoreline, ending their hopes of winning a trophy this season.
Having played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium last month, United came into the return leg as marginal favorites. Unfortunately, they once again fell to a first-half Atletico Madrid strike. But this time, they could not find it in themselves to score an equalizer.
First-leg hero Anthony Elanga came close to opening the scoring for United after 13 minutes of play. Sadly for the home supporters, the youngster dispatched his effort straight at Atletico Madrid stopper Jan Oblak.
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Three minutes later, Rodrigo de Paul forced an excellent save out of David de Gea at the other end of the pitch. Joao Felix then found the back of the net in the 34th minute, but VAR ruled it out.
Four minutes before the half-time break, Renan Lodi headed the visitors in front, connecting with Antoine Griezmann’s curling cross at the back post.
A minute into the second half, Elanga once again had an opportunity to hit the back of the net. Unfortunately, the 19-year-old failed to keep his low drive on target.
13 minutes later, Jadon Sancho dispatched a sweet volley but could not keep it on target. Ralf Rangnick brought in Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, and Marcus Rashford to freshen things up, but the trio could not make a tangible impact.
Raphael Varane came agonizingly close to leveling the scoreline in the 77th minute, but Oblak parried his goalbound header away, courtesy of his razor-sharp reflexes.
Atletico held on for the remaining time and managed the game well to see out the tie and progress to the quarter-finals.
Here are five players who failed to live up to their billing as Manchester United crashed out of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night:
#5 Harry Maguire
Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire once again cut a shaky figure at the back. He looked uncomfortable in possession and could not manage to lead the line with authority.
The captain was also caught out of possession in the build-up to Atletico's goal, highlighting his poor sense of positioning. He once passed the ball back to De Gea from inside his own box after unnecessarily keeping possession, puting the keeper in a very uncomfortable position.
The Englishman won one ground duel, lost possession eight times and committed two fouls before being subbed out in favor of Juan Mata in the 84th minute.
#4 Diogo Dalot
Playing as a right-back, Diogo Dalot was required to strike the perfect balance between attack and defense on such an important night.
He did well as an attack-minded full-back, taking the fight to the opposition every chance he got. Unfortunately, he fluffed his lines when it came to keeping it tight at the back.
The Portuguese lost Lodi at the back post in the 41st minute, allowing the Atletico left-midfielder to apply the finishing touches.
Maguire's wayward positioning did not help his case, of course, but fans United fans expected better from their talented right-back.
Dalot lost possession lost 16 times, committed four fouls (booked once), and lost five ground duels.
#3 Bruno Fernandes
Having been absent in Saturday’s win against Tottenham Hotspur due to COVID-19, Bruno Fernandes returned to the Manchester United lineup against Atletico Madrid.
The attacking midfielder, who had registered seven assists in six Champions League games before Tuesday’s match, was expected to emerge as United’s creator-in-chief.
Much to the disappointment of the home supporters, it did not quite turn out that way.
The Portuguese midfielder spent an awful amount of time moaning to the referee. He was easily outmuscled by Los Rojiblancos, had only one shot on target and created only a couple of chances.
Before being substituted in the 67th minute, Fernandes registered two key passes, misplaced three crosses, lost three ground duels, and lost possession 16 times.
The low drive he aimed at Oblak’s goal in first-half stoppage time was pretty much the highlight of his game on Tuesday.
#2 Jadon Sancho
Having produced some impressive performances over the last few weeks, Manchester United left-winger Jadon Sancho was full of confidence going into the match against Atletico.
On Tuesday night, he was handed a harsh reality check, with the visitors rarely affording him any breathing room.
His work rate, as always, was impressive, and his attempted second-half volley was also neat, but that was pretty much all we got from Sancho.
Only five of his 11 dribbles were successful, he lost nine ground duels and ceded possession a whopping 24 times. To top it off, he only registered one shot on Tuesday, which (the volleyed attempt) sadly was off-target.
An underwhelming display from the talented youngster.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Champions League’s leading goalscorer (140 goals) Cristiano Ronaldo came into the match on the back of a stunning Premier League hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur.
Against a familiar foe, the Portuguese superstar was expected to lead the charge, keeping Oblak on his toes all night long. Sadly, the 37-year-old did not manage to breach through Atletico’s lines and ended the night without registering a single shot.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner ran tirelessly, pressed hard, won most of his duels (6 of 10), and even dropped deep occasionally to help out. However, in and around the box, his offensive threat was completely nullified, as his Manchester United teammates struggled to play him through on goal.
Over the course of the 90, Ronaldo registered 50 touches, could not provide a successful cross or a key pass, and lost possession 10 times.
This was also just the third time in his career that he didn't take a single shot while playing 90-plus minutes in a Champions League game.
A night to forget for the legendary No.7.
