Atletico Madrid vs. Bayern Munich: Winners and Losers from Champions League
Atletico Madrid did what Atletico Madrid do best on Wednesday night: Bag a hard-fought, gutsy 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich to put one foot in the UEFA Champions League final.
Los Colchoneros started the better side and took the lead thanks to a truly magnificent goal from Saul Niguez, as the Spaniard jinked past four markers, kept his balance and curled a delicious effort around Manuel Neuer.
Die Bayern eventually woke up and threatened in the second half, with David Alaba coming closest when he struck the bar from 30 yards, but were not able to find a way through.
Here, B/R picks its winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Saul Niguez, Atletico Madrid
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Saul will become a household name across Europe overnight; his goal, the only one of the game, was a mesmerising effort that would deserve to be the winner of any match.
Collecting a pass from Augusto Fernandez, he dribbled forward and beat no fewer than four players, entered the box and bent a stunning left-footed effort around Neuer and into the far corner.
"We let Saul get too close to goal. We have to accept the blame. Still, he took it very well," the German goalkeeper admitted after the game (per Bayern's official Twitter account).
It wasn’t just his conduct in front of goal that impressed, though; for 85 minutes, Saul worked hard to protect the right flank and help Juanfran against Bayern Munich’s wide men.
He was withdrawn to a standing ovation, and rightly so.
Loser: Pep Guardiola, Bayern Munich
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Pep Guardiola’s record in away knockout Champions League games is not good. For all the possession dominance and mouth-watering play his teams produce, there is a clear weakness on his resume, and it involves travelling to hostile away grounds in Europe.
Following the 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, his record reads: Played 21, won four, lost six, and drawn 10. Given the talented squads he’s had at his disposal, that’s not good enough.
Despite winning the competition twice, Pep has struggled at the semi-final stage over the last four years and is now on the back foot again. It will be very tough to get past Diego Simeone’s men—even at the Allianz Arena—in order to reset the course in his favour.
Winner: Augusto Fernandez, Atletico Madrid
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On December 30, 2015, Augusto Fernandez lined up against Athletic Bilbao for Celta Vigo and his team lost 1-0, denting their charge toward a possible, unlikely top-four finish. Fast-forward just over four months and he now plays for Atletico Madrid, where he now has one foot in a Champions League final and is embroiled in a Liga title race.
Talk about your dramatic transformations!
Against Bayern, Fernandez was stellar. He harried and snapped, he closed down well and hacked plenty of dangerous balls clear without hesitation. He anticipated play well and closed down pockets of space, too.
Loser: David Alaba, Bayern Munich
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Alaba was asked to play centre-back on Wednesday for one very obvious reason: His pace stood as Pep Guardiola's most valuable tool when chasing Atletico Madrid on the counter-attack.
On paper, moving him there was a great move—he's proven he's capable and comfortable there—but in reality he was pulled around and jinked past in embarrassing circumstances.
Saul Niguez fooled him with stepovers and bent a finish around him to score the game's only goal, while Fernando Torres duped him with ease on the way to striking the post in the second half.
Alaba did strike the bar with a vicious 30-yard effort late on, but that can't absolve him for a ropey defensive showing.
Winner: Josema Gimenez, Atletico Madrid
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The pressure was on Josema Gimenez on Wednesday. His usual central defensive partner and leader Diego Godin was ruled out injured, so it was up to the Uruguayan to take ownership of the line and retain Atletico Madrid’s stingy, solid edge at the back.
He did so with aplomb.
He blocked shots crosses and passes, throwing himself in the way of everything. His tracking of runs into the box was very good, and his one mishap—losing Javi Martinez at a corner—went unpunished as he was able to apply just enough pressure on him below to skew the header.
Can he do it without Godin guiding him? You bet he can!
