UEFA Champions League 2021-22 Quarterfinals Leg-2: Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid Preview, Team News, Possible Lineups, and Prediction
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Manchester City and Atlético Madrid will shoot out for a UEFA Champions League 2021-22 semi-final spot against Real Madrid on Thursday. The two teams look well in balance and as of now, the Citizens have a 1-0 lead on aggregate.
Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid: Preview
Kevin De Bruyne scored a crucial goal for Manchester City in the 70th minute of the first leg at the Etihad. Phil Foden, who had just been introduced as a substitute two minutes earlier, picked out De Bruyne inside the area after a brilliant bit of play. The Belgian international dispatched it to the back of the net without much hassle to give City a narrow lead ahead of the second leg.
Kevin De Bruyne’s 70th minute strike gave City the edge in a first leg they dominated from a possession perspective but City’s two chances on goal in the first leg shows just how difficult they found it to create high-quality openings.
Atletico Madrid defended deep and were ready to make do with the scraps Manchester City would offer them. It was a plan that nearly worked for them on the night as they limited City to just two shots on target.
Diego Simeone’s pragmatic approach was entirely based on minimising the damage and taking charge in the second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano. However, having failed to register even a single attempt, the approach received plenty of flak from fans and pundits alike.
Manchester City: Team News
Manchester City has got Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker back in their squad as they travel to Spain for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid. Pep Guardiola had been unable to call upon Walker for the last three European games following his red card against RB Leipzig in the group stage.
However, the full-back’s ban has ended and City could select a near full-strength side for the quarter-final second leg. On the other hand, Dias has been out injured for six weeks and while Guardiola confirmed the Portuguese would not start at the Wanda Metropolitano, he did confirm that he has at least travelled with his teammates, hence, giving some good news to the City fans.
Atletico Madrid: Team News
Simeone will select a side without injured centre-back José María Giménez. Mexico international, Héctor Herrera, will also miss the match in Madrid through injury. A recent regular starter in the centre of a midfield three, the experienced and ever-reliable Herrera who will leave for the MLS this summer, remains sidelined.
Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid: Some interesting match facts
- Atlético hasn’t lost a Champions League knockout clash at home since they lost to Ajax in 1996/97.
- Kevin De Bruyne’s 70th minute strike gave City the edge in a first leg they dominated from a possession perspective but City’s 2 chances on goal in the first leg shows just how difficult they found it to create high-quality openings.
- Atléti has won ten of their 13 knockout ties with English teams in this competition.
- Atletico failed to register a single shot on target for the time in their history of competing in the UEFA Champions League
Manchester City v Atletico Madrid: Possible line-ups
Atletico Madrid’s predicted line-up (3-5-2): Jan Oblak; Stefan Savic, Felipe, Reinildo; Marcos Llorente, Rodrigo De Paul, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Koke, Renan Lodi; Antoine Griezmann, Joao Felix.
Manchester City’s predicted line-up (4-3-3): Ederson; Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Joao Cancelo; Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne; Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling.
Manchester City v Atletico Madrid: Match Predictions
It is likely to be a 1-0 to Manchester City again and Bernardo Silva is expected to score the sole goal in the first half. Thus, overall, the Sky Blues win the quarter-finals and meet Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League 2021-22.
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Aryan Sharma
(95 Articles Published)