We counted six congratulatory references to ‘cool Manchester City heads’ in the BT Sport studio at the end of the game. What nonsense. City lost it and are very fortunate to be in the Champions League semi-finals.
Atletico Madrid were positively gung-ho compared to the first leg. Sure, they had 30 per cent possession in the first half and it took them half-an-hour to have their first shot, we’re not saying they went bonkers, but they pressed gradually more and more as the game went on, and Joao Felix had more and more company in the City box.
In the second half, City were rattled. More perhaps than they have ever done, Pep Guardiola’s side were easing pressure through booting it long, and it kept coming back.
Antoine Griezmann had a shot deflected behind, he had a second excellent effort from the edge of the box sail just wide, Felix perhaps should have done better with a free header, Rodrigo De Paul had a couple of chances, John Stones was forced into a magnificent block. It was entirely one-way traffic and Diego Simeone and his players will rightly feel aggrieved not to have won this game.
The City players failed to heed the advice of the peerless football polymath Jake Humphrey, who told them from the BT Sport studio before kick off that “the best way to beat Atletico is to play brilliantly”. They couldn’t keep possession, couldn’t get out, and the forward players, Riyad Mahrez besides, all had a bit of a stinker.
The Atletico Madrid centre-backs, in the absence of their favoured target Jack Grealish (though he still managed to get his hair pulled by future pen pal Stefan Savic), directed their finger-pointing and whispered sweet nothings at Phil Foden.
Simeone was also clearly well aware of the main Manchester City dangerman when, in the 15th minute, he made a stretcher gesture to the fourth official with Foden prostrate on the floor following ‘a challenge’ by Felipe, who received the first of his two yellow cards for his trouble….
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…