Manchester United has been eliminated from the UCL: Manchester United will finish the season without a trophy for the fifth time after losing to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League at Old Trafford.
Ralf Rangnick’s Red Devils saw their final road to trophy slammed shut by Diego Simeone’s savvy, well-drilled team on Tuesday evening, long after they had dropped out of the Premier League championship chase.
Renan Lodi’s first-half header secured a 1-0 Old Trafford triumph as Atleti advanced to the quarter-finals, but United failed to capitalize on their ill-deserved draw in the first leg of their last-16 meeting in Spain.
The Premier League side’s sixth consecutive continental campaign ended in a loss against Spanish opponents, with the 2-1 aggregate defeat extinguishing any dim hopes of the first piece of silverware since the 2017 Europa League.
United got off to a good start at Old Trafford, where Anthony Elanga would have scored his second goal of the game if it hadn’t been for a lucky Jan Oblak stop on a night when the reigning LaLiga winners grew into it.
In the first leg, Joao Felix scored a thunderous header and had a goal called out for offside before Antoine Griezmann hooked a ball to the back post for Lodi to head in.
United failed to respond to the gut blow, as Simeone’s side dug deep in the second half, soaking up pressure and frustrating the hosts as much as the officials.
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“Harry Maguire has a big head.”
During Manchester United’s match against Atletico Madrid, a commentator goes viral for saying, “Harry Maguire has a big head.”
Renan Lodi scored the key goal in the first half as United fell 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate in the Champions League round of 16.
Maguire was also exposed to some mild teasing from the commentator on South African station Supersport during the first half.
“It’s a well-known talking topic in football that Harry Maguire has a large head and he’s able to share the weight,” the analyst observed after the United captain had an aerial confrontation with Jose Maria Gimenez in the first half.
Maguire was able to continue, but with six minutes left on the clock and United in quest of a goal, the skipper was suddenly hooked by for bit-part midfielder Juan Mata.
Ironic applause erupted from the United supporters in the stadium when the substitution was made.
Maguire has been chastised for his performances in the heart of United’s defense this season.
Diego Simeone was pelted with objects as he ran down the tunnel.
After Atletico Madrid’s win against Manchester United, Diego Simeone was pelted with objects as he ran down the tunnel.
Atletico Madrid produced a defensive masterpiece to knock United out of the Champions League in the round of 16, with Renan Lodi’s first-half header giving Atleti a 2-1 aggregate victory.
United fans were disappointed with their own squad, the opposition’s regular theatrics, and Slavko Vincic’s dubious officiating performance.
They unleashed their frustrations on Simeone after the last whistle.
When the Argentine completed his regular ritual of sprinting down the tunnel as soon as the final whistle blew, he was pelted with beverages.
None of the United fans seemed to touch the former Lazio player or soak his suit, but their actions drew a lot of criticism on social media:
Simeone conducts the dash after every game, regardless of the outcome, preferring to return to the dressing room rather than wait for handshakes.
“I don’t enjoy the post-match greeting because it’s two sides’ feelings in different emotional minds,” Simeone remarked in November.
“I realize it’s a British tradition, but I don’t share it, and I don’t enjoy the potential for deception.”
Simeone and Atleti once again demonstrated their mastery of the black arts by defending themselves.
The 2 finalists will now be put into the hat for the quarter-final draw on Friday.
