Atlético Madrid captain Koke Pep Guardiola’s re-evaluation of the team’s defensive tactics after the coach said they played with a “5-5” formation in City of Manchester‘S 1-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg won on Tuesday.
Kevin De Bruyne scored the only goal of a tight game in the 70th minute at Etihad Stadium – with Phil Foden came on from the bench to provide an assist – giving City a close advantage ahead of the second leg in Madrid on April 13.
– Dawson: Foden surpasses Atletico’s level
Initially, Guardiola praised the effectiveness of Atletico’s approach, describing Diego Simeone’s side as “masters at defending together and going deep.”
“They play 5-5, two every year. In prehistoric times, now and in 100,000 years, attacking 5-5 was very difficult,” continued Guardiola. talk to Movistar. “There is no space. They are very competitive, they defend well. It is difficult, you have to have patience.”
Guardiola’s “prehistoric” comment has been interpreted by some in Madrid as a criticism intended to describe Atletico’s approach as antiquated.
“Favorite your history since BEFORE HISTORY,” Koke replied in an Instagram story posted Tuesday night, with an image of the Atletico Madrid badge. “Proud to be Atleti.”
Atletico failed to score a single shot on target throughout the game, and while City dominated 70 per cent of possession, they only managed two shots on target.
“In the last 20 games here, they’ve scored 60 goals,” Simeone told Movistar. “We tried to hold on tight and use the counter-attack. They didn’t hit the target in the first half, but we couldn’t hurt them either. It was a very tactical game.”
“We defended quite well the whole game, except for the goal,” Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak speak. “City plays like that, they have a lot of ownership over everyone, not just us. If you get mad, they’ll punish you. Luckily we kept a cool head and closed. close the gaps… We lost but a draw didn’t. ‘It’s not over yet.”
