Atletico Madrid pipped Bayern Munich 1-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals, thanks to a brilliant solo goal from Saul Niguez. The Spaniard skillfully danced his way through the Bayern defense and put the ball past Manuel Neuer with a world-class finish.
Atletico managed to keep Bayern at bay in a fantastic tactical battle as they stayed compact and essentially cancelled out Bayern’s attacks. The Rojiblancos had a chance to score late in the game through Fernando Torres, who deceived David Alaba with his touch and whipped a shot with the outside of his boot, only to see it hit the far post.
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Also read: UEFA Champions League - Atletico Madrid 1-0 Bayern Munich
The visitors did create a few chances of their own, a couple of them from distance as David Alaba unleashed a powerful strike from 30 yards out that had Jan Oblak beaten but hit the underside of the crossbar.
Here’s how each player fared in the match:
Atletico Madrid
Jan Oblak - 7.5/10
Atletico Madrid’s goalkeeper Jan Oblak had a busy night as he was tested time and again. The Slovenian always seemed to make the right decision as he charged ahead to claim the ball right when Bayern looked dangerous after going a goal down in the early stages of the game. Oblak had to deal with a couple of good strikes from distance, the first of which had him well beaten.
Juanfran - 7/10
The right-back was kept on his toes by Douglas Costa. The Spanish national also contained David Alaba, who looked to expand Bayern’s attacking options on the overlap. Juanfran sat back and defended well, seldom going ahead on the counter-attack.
Jose Gimenez - 8/10
Gimenez linked up well with fellow centre-half Stefan Savic to keep the Bavarians at bay. The defender cleared the ball off the line as Bayern looked to equalise through Arturo Vidal’s header right after going down. Gimenez also timed his tackle to perfection as he prevented Kingsley Coman from squaring the ball in for his teammates in the penalty area.
Stefan Savic - 8/10
Savic’s performance was instrumental in keeping Robert Lewandowski silent during the ninety minutes. The defender carefully isolated the forward from his teammates, robbing him of the services he so desperately needed.
Filipe Luis - 8.5/10
The attacking full-back was active on both sides of the field as he contained Kingsley Coman and Philipp Lahm well. Luis also created a chance for Atletico to double their lead as he whipped in a pin-point cross into the box which was flicked on towards the goal by Koke, just to be headed out of play by Javi Martinez.
Saul Niguez - 8.5/10
Niguez helped Atletico take the lead with a brilliant run which tore Bayern’s defence apart and a finish so perfect that there was nothing that the world’s best keeper could do to keep the ball out. The midfielder showed an exceptional work-rate as he covered territory and tracked back quite whenever his team needed him.
Gabi - 7/10
The midfielder took on a more defensive role as he stayed solid and won back possession for his team on quite a few occasions. Gabi cut out Bayern’s attacks with a set of crucial blocks and interceptions. He didn’t contribute much when his side was in possession though.
Augusto Fernandez - 9/10
Fernandez had a good game as he disturbed Bayern’s flow of play time and again. He was extremely committed during the entire course of the game. Fernandez could be seen everywhere on the pitch as he cut out passes and put his body on the line to block shots. This was surely one of his best performances for the Madrid side.
Koke - 6/10
Koke had an on and off performance as he was brilliant with the ball at his feet but failed to complete crucial passes. The Spaniard’s set-piece delivery was also quite poor by his standards. Despite all that, the midfielder’s commitment was quite visible through his exceptional work rate.
Fernando Torres - 7/10
El Nino was unlucky as he should have gotten on the scoresheet. The forward’s touch to deceive David Alaba and the shot that had Neuer well beaten could only find the woodwork. Torres tirelessly pressed high up the pitch but his poor first touch prevented him from capitalizing on opportunities.
Antoine Griezmann - 7/10
The Frenchman was quick on the break. He charged forward in the second half before releasing Torres, who could only hit the post. Griezmann was lively throughout the game and also forced Neuer into a good save in the first half.
Substitutes:
Thomas Partey - 6/10
Partey came on for Saul in the dying minutes of the match. The Ghanaian provided some more running in the middle of the park.
Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer - 6.5/10
Neuer wasn’t exerted during the match. He was solid between the posts but failed to do much to prevent the only goal of the game. The German was saved by the woodwork in the second half as he was clearly beaten by Torres’s shot.
Philipp Lahm - 6/10
The skipper didn’t face much trouble defensively. Although he didn’t look quite convincing going ahead. Nevertheless, Lahm had his good moments too. One of them coming in the second half as he released teammate Douglas Costa with a fantastic through ball, only to see the Brazilian dink it over the bar.
Javi Martinez - 7/10
The Spaniard didn’t have much of a battle with the Atletico front men. Martinez played an important role in Bayern’s makeshift defence, being the only true centre-back in the back four. He headed out a cheeky effort from Koke to save Bayern the blushes.
David Alaba - 7.5/10
Alaba failed to contain Saul which led to the only goal of the game. Apart from that, the versatile defender had a good game in both attack and defence. The Austrian international was not afraid of getting ahead and trying his luck in front of goal.
Juan Bernat - 5/10
The fullback was neither solid defensively, nor was he a threat in the attacking third. Bernat failed to stop Saul from dancing past him and didn’t really have much of an impact on the game later on. The Spaniard earned a bunch of off-target attempts to his name before he was subbed off.
Xabi Alonso - 7/10
The composed midfielder had a good game apart from the fact that he was among the many that fell prey to Saul’s deadly run. Alonso committed a string of tactical fouls in midfield to disrupt Atletico’s momentum whenever they were in possession.
Douglas Costa - 6/10
The course of the game saw Costa drift into a more central position from the flank. The Brazilian had absolutely no space on the wing and hence he couldn’t really put his trickery to good use. He had a close free-kick that hit the side netting and a lobbed attempt at goal which went over the crossbar.
Thiago Alcantara - 6/10
One of Pep Guardiola’s favourite youngsters in the side, Alcantara was kept silent by the Atletico defence. The former Barcelona playmaker struggled to have an impact on the game as he found it difficult to complete crucial passes.
Arturo Vidal - 7.5/10
Arturo Vidal was active throughout the game. The box-to-box midfielder unleashed a powerful attempt on target only to see it punched away by a brilliant save from Jan Oblak. The Chilean’s work rate was commendable as he covered more distance than any of his teammates and won duels all over the field.
Kingsley Coman - 7/10
The quick-footed winger got into good positions quite a few times with his threatening runs. The young Frenchman faced difficulties of his own due to his one-dimensional approach in one-on-ones with defenders. Coman was substituted 25 minutes from time.
Robert Lewandowski - 6/10
Bayern’s prolific goalscorer Robert Lewandowski tried to make the best out of whatever service he could get, but the striker was cut-off from his teammates for most parts of the game. He struck a couple of shots wide as he was carefully singled out by the Atletico defence.
Substitutes:
Medhi Benatia - 6/10
The Moroccan national earned a yellow card for an unnecessary tackle. Benatia also got an attempt on goal as he headed an accurately whipped in aerial ball from Ribery straight into the hands of Jan Oblak.
Frank Ribery - 7.5/10
Ribery was like a breath of fresh air after a frustrating second half for Bayern Munich. The experienced winger started influencing the game as he troubled the Atletico defence with his skills and threatening passes. The Frenchman also whipped in some good balls into the box.
Thomas Muller - 7/10
Many eyebrows were raised after seeing Bayern Munich’s main man start on the bench. The elusive midfielder was brought on for Thiago Alcantara and he linked up well with Costa and Ribery. The German laid the ball off for Arturo Vidal in front of goal, who just couldn’t manage to get his footing right in the dying moments of the game.
