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Manchester City footballers will present themselves in the semifinals of the Champions League for the second year in a row and for the third time in history.
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In Wednesday’s retaliatory quarterfinal duel, they played the necessary draw at the Atletica Madrid field (0-0), which moved them to the elite quartet in comparison with the previous home victory of 1-0, but more than the result was talked about at the end of the match. English team coach Pep Guardiola also lamented the injuries of Kevin de Bruyne and Kyle Walker and said that his team was in big trouble.
According to Guardiol, the procedure required a large tax. The scorer of the goal in the first mutual match, midfielder De Bruyne and defender Walker did not finish the match due to health reasons, when they had to take turns in the second half. The extent of their injuries and the length of their absence were not known immediately after the match.
“We can celebrate today because for the third time in Manchester City history, he has advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League,” Guardiol said contentedly. “Well, we can’t forget that we played three days ago, in the meantime we traveled, we came here, struggling with more injuries. I have no idea what will happen in the coming weeks. It’s not possible for us to play in such a fast sequence and to score four or five goals in every match. We’re just people, plus we’ve had a tough league match with Liverpool (2: 2, editor’s note). We’re in big trouble. “ the Spanish coach admitted.
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In their jubilee 100th match at LM, the “Citizens” had to deal with the tough game of the home team. The situation escalated at the end, when Felipe slid down the escaping Phil Foden and hit him with his other leg from behind. After the second yellow card, he got a red one. Foden rolled onto the pitch and delayed the game by changing his direction.
A field broke out on the pitch, during which Atletica defender and former City player Stefan Savic tried to roll Foden back behind the side line, which was defended by Oleg Zinchenko from the Manchester bench. The savage tried to hit Raheem Sterling with his head and also pulled Jack Grealish by the hair. Home coach Diego Simeone also collected a yellow card.
The rifts continued after the final whistle. Spanish teammate Šime Vrsaljko threw the object at the crowd of Manchester City members and gestured angrily. He wanted to fight for the visiting players, who in turn had to silence Kyle Walker on the steps to the cabins. According to TV footage, objects were flying and the police had to be separated in the tunnel. “Everyone saw what happened, but I have nothing to say about it,” noted for AP Guardiola, who was allegedly hit by an unknown fluid.
Photo gallery
Atlético Madrid – Manchester City
Source: SITA
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The duel cost his players a lot of strength. In the second half, the Madrid team had a surprising advantage in possession of the ball (51%: 49%) and shooting attempts (13: 2, 2: 1 on goal). In the introductory act, the guests dominated in the statistics (ball possession 31%: 69%, shots 1: 8, but 1: 0 on goal).
“Atletico is a Spanish champion and was full of energy. In the second half we were outnumbered and we were lucky that we didn’t collect. Guardiola stressed.
He became the first coach in history with nine participations in the LM semifinals. In addition to the City, he also advanced among the top four with FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Guardiol’s charges will meet in the semifinals with another team from his home country – Real Madrid: “Opponent is tough. Real is the king of this competition. The performance we gave in the second half would certainly not be enough for us. If we want to succeed, we will have to endure something.”
According to guest defender John Stones, the reigning English champion has passed a difficult test and is ready to face another challenge: “We knew it was hard to play in this stadium. We entered in a hostile environment, it was a difficult evening in all respects, so it’s unbelievable how we defended and controlled developments in two matches. Unbelievable how we acted against such an experienced team . ”
City Stopper also commented on the nervous conclusion for BT Sport: “We knew that Atletica players tried anything and sometimes helped each other in this way, but I think we handled it quite well. It’s easy to get back into things like that. But we kept our heads cool.”
Photo gallery
Atlético Madrid – Manchester City
Source: SITA
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Atletico, who needed to catch up with the opponent’s shortfall, had a hard time getting into the pace in the first half. “Los Colchoneros” switched to a higher gear only after the change of sides and got into chances, they lacked only peace in the final phase.
In the 47th minute, Antoine Griezmann’s attempt blocked the guests’ defense. Rodrig de Paul wasn’t in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for 70 minutes into the game. Yannick Carrasco was caught napping as Ederson lifted a ball over him following a free kick, but the ball hit the bar, rebounding into the keeper’s arms.
“We were able to create a chance, but the ball didn’t want to hit us in the net. We have no choice but to congratulate the opponent. But Atletico deserved more.” said midfielder Koke. “We have to congratulate our opponent. He played an excellent match. He presented himself in the style we used to play. The elimination hurts, but I’m proud of how we played and fought.” Simeone stressed.
The Argentine coach also responded to a post-match press conference with words from Guardiol, who said it was difficult to play against extremely defensive teams such as Atletico: “People who have a rich vocabulary are often very intelligent and able to praise you, even though they actually despise you. We’re not stupid, even though we may have less vocabulary.” The Simeone tunnel did not comment on the post-match rift: “I didn’t see it. I was still on the field at the time, applauding our fans. When I went down in the bowels, no one was there anymore.”
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