Atlético Madrid delivered a characteristically organized performance at home to Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal, emerging 1-0 winners. It means they're in an excellent position heading into next week's reverse fixture at the Allianz Arena.
3 things we learned from Atlético Madrid’s 1-0 win over Bayern Munich
Diego Simeone’s side are on course to qualify for their second Champions League final in three years.
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images
Atléti could hardly have made a more perfect start to the match, with Diego Simeone's men intimidating Bayern with their combative approach in the opening exchanges. Within 11 minutes they'd broken the deadlock courtesy of a spectacular opener from Saúl, who jinked past three Bayern defenders before curling the ball inside Manuel Neuer's far post.
Bayern went close to an instant riposte, though an Arturo Vidal header at the far post was flicked over by defender José Giménez. Atléti successfully saw off the subsequent wave of pressure, and regrouped excellently. Their Bavarian visitors saw the lion's share of possession, but struggled to find a route to goal.
For their part, Atléti sat back and waited for the opportunities on the counter. Their best chance at a second goal came after half-an-hour, though Javi Martínez did just enough to narrow the angle for Antoine Griezmann, whose effort was blocked at the near post by Neuer.
The second half picked up where the first had left off, with Bayern seeing much of the ball but failing to test Jan Oblak. That said, David Alaba went close with a vicious dipping long-range shot inside 10 minutes of the restart, which crashed against the hosts' crossbar.
Bayern continued to crank up the pressure, but to no avail. For their part, Atléti waited for the right moment to pounce on the break. They went agonizingly close to doing so with a quarter-of-an-hour left on the clock, though Fernando Torres' smart finish came back off the post before Neuer smothered Koke's rebound.
That proved to be the last real chance of the match, with Atléti withstanding the late barrage to record an excellent victory.
Atlético Madrid: Jan Oblak; Filipe Luis, Stefan Savić, José Giménez, Juanfran; Koke, Augusto Fernández, Gabi, Saúl (Thomas Partey 85’); Fernando Torres, Antoine Griezmann.
Goals: Saúl (11’).
Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer; Juan Bernat (Medhi Benatia 77'), David Alaba, Javi Martínez, Philipp Lahm; Arturo Vidal, Xabi Alonso, Thiago Alcântara (Thomas Müller 70'); Kingsley Coman (Franck Ribéry 64'), Robert Lewandowski, Douglas Costa.
Goals: None.
3 Things
1. Atléti could hardly have dreamed of a better scenario
Admittedly, Pep Guardiola’s teams are occasionally known for their dramatic meltdowns, but they’re still pretty few and far between in the grand scheme. It would’ve been greedy of Atléti to have hoped for a better scenario than this: not only have they stopped Bayern from scoring an away goal, but they’ll head to the Allianz knowing their visitors will have to take risks. For a team so devastatingly good on the counter-attack, they’ve given themselves a great chance.
2. Pep may have got his selection wrong
The big talking point in Guardiola’s starting lineup was the omission of Thomas Müller, who had to make do for a spot on the bench. It was a slightly odd selection, especially against a team of Atléti’s style. Müller is a master of finding space against resolute defenses; this was exactly the sort of game in which he often proves at his most important. Instead Pep went for a more brute-force attacking approach, and Atléti may have been thankful he did so.
3. This tie’s still far from over
In some ways this, this is the perfect Champions League tie. Two excellent teams at the peak of their powers, playing different styles of football. But it’s not that one style’s better than the other; it’s that you can never tell which will win out on the day. Needless to say, Bayern remain absolutely one of the top teams in world football, and Pep one of the smartest coaches. If anyone’s going to be able to find a way through Atléti’s defense, it’s Bayern.
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