Renan Lodi’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday qualified Atletico Madrid into the Champions League quarterfinals.
After a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the last-16 meeting three weeks before, Lodi’s first-half header gave LaLiga’s reigning champions a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Anthony Elanga scored United’s goal in Madrid, but he wasted an early chance to convert a ball from Bruno Fernandes, who had returned to the lineup after a COVID-19 test result.
After Lodi’s first Champions League goal, which was enough to send Atletico into the final eight for the second time in three seasons, Atletico sat back and made life difficult for United.
Jan Oblak kept out a point-blank effort from Elanga with his head in the 13th minute, while David de Gea did brilliantly to deny Rodrigo de Paul from 25 yards at the other end.
Fernandes had a claim for a penalty turned down following a challenge from Reinildo before Joao Felix saw a goal ruled out for offside against Marcos Llorente in the build-up.
Atletico still went into half-time in front after Lodi headed home Antoine Griezmann’s delivery, with United furious that Reinildo was not penalised for a challenge on Elanga moments earlier.
Elanga guided a decent effort wide 30 seconds after the restart, while Jadon Sancho lashed a volley narrowly over before the hour mark.
Oblak made another fine stop from a Raphael Varane header that looked destined for the top-left corner with 13 minutes remaining.
It was the closest Ralf Rangnick’s side came to keeping their last hope of silverware this season alive, with Atletico holding on to progress.
What does it mean? United again pay for slow start
It is not a good sign for United if they draw the first leg of a Champions League knockout clash. They have now been eliminated from the past four ties in which they have been held in the opening encounter, three of which have come against Spanish opposition.
Furthermore, United have now won just two of their past nine Champions League home games against Spanish opposition.
Ronaldo goes missing
United needed their players to step up on the big occasion, but Cristiano Ronaldo was a peripheral figure. He failed to register a single attempt on goal – something he has not experienced in a Champions League game in which he played at least 45 minutes since May 2011 (semi-final second leg against Barcelona with Real Madrid).
Simeone masterclass
If there is one thing Atletico know how to do it is defend a lead. Their second half was vintage Diego Simeone as his team kept their first away clean sheet against an English side in the competition. They also avoided conceding at least once in seven straight Champions League games for the first time since 2013.
Key Opta facts
– Manchester United have been eliminated from six of their last eight Champions League knockout stage ties, having won 13 of their 16 previous such ties in the competition.
– Atletico have now eliminated all three English teams to have won the Champions League (Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea) from the competition. They are the only side to have knocked out each of those three teams from the knockout stages in the competition’s history.
– United have kept just two clean sheets in their last 19 Champions League games, conceding 29 goals in the process.
– Since the start of 2013-14, Diego Simeone’s first Champions League campaign in charge, Atletico have kept 42 clean sheets in the competition, at least three more than any other side.
– Lodi became the 217th Brazilian player to score in the Champions League, giving them at least 19 more different goalscorers than any other nation in the competition (excluding own goals).
What’s next?
Atletico take on Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga on Saturday, while United are not in action until a Premier League meeting with Leicester City at Old Trafford on April 2.
