Manchester City are in the Champions League semifinals after surviving the high-intense rematch against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night. The game ended in a goalless draw, 0-0, but Pep Guardiola’s slot celebrated an overall victory thanks to a 1-0 home victory in the first leg played at the Etihad last week.Unlike that Liverpool tie on Sunday, which is considered one of the best football games of the season so far, this was a total opposite for the Citizens. It was probably one of the worst European displays of Pep’s outfit, unable to accommodate themselves to Cholo Simeone’s tactics.Still, the team that couldn’t score at least a single goal during the 180 minutes of football doesn’t deserve to go through to the semifinals.There was not much action in the first half, as both tacticians practised what they preach – Pep’s City controlled the ball most of the time, trying to impose dominance primarily through wings, while Cholo’s Atleti focused on defending. And they were doing it quite physically, which Foden felt on himself, being punched, kicked and harassed every time he would get near the ball.Benfica have got one of the best strikers in the world, but Darwin has to say goodbye to the Champions LeagueHowever, around the 30-minute mark, he managed to cross it from the left, and after a commotion in Oblak’s box, the ball reached Gundogan. The German midfielder aimed at the bottom right corner, the shot was more than decent, but it ended on the post for relief of Los Colchoneros.De Bruyne finds a gap in Atletico’s wall – City will take a 1-0 lead to MadridAnd what about their chances? Hmm, what opportunities? There were literally none of them until the half-time whistle. It would be somehow even understood if it wasn’t for that 1-0 deficit on aggregate.However, we saw a slightly more courageous home team after the teams returned from the break, pressuring the visitors and playing up high.Manchester city didn’t rob anybody, Atletico Madrid are just hooligans pic.twitter.com/Azi9jnTqTX— Derrick👻🎃 (@ifeme_kd) April 13, 2022 Griezmann and Joao Felix were doing their best to put their side in front but lacked the necessary fire supply from their midfield. So, they had to do it all by themselves – the latter put the ball on a plate for the former, around the D, and the French forward fired an exquisite shot that went just inches wide of the target.Atletico Madrid vs Manchester City highlights pic.twitter.com/sXwsyh8TEM— CFCDan (@DannCFC21) April 13, 2022 Guardiola wasn’t too happy with the scenery, as Atleti started to dominate the game, so he had to make some changes. He pulled out injured De Bruyne for Sterling, giving Rodri and Bernardo Silva the keys of the midfield.On the other end, Cholo decided to go for three changes in a single moment, dissatisfied with Griezmann’s lack of efficiency. One of the substitutes, De Paul, was provided with an opportunity to score just a few moments after coming in, but his effort went above the crossbar.THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIFINALS ARE SET! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/4k3OwH0nxw— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 13, 2022 No one was that close to scoring like his teammate and another sub, Cunha, minutes before the final whistle. Correa assisted him perfectly with his chest, but Stones was there to block the shot and prevent the Spaniards from breaking both the deadlock and tired guests.##EDITORS_CHOICE##That was the moment this electric game exploded, only in the worst possible way – Felipe was sent off for the second yellow after a God-knows-what tackle on Foden. It erupted on the pitch as Savic confronted half a dozen City players, and the brawl lasted for an entire minute or so, and all that halfway through the stoppage-time. By that moment, the ref definitely lost control of the game. Tensions were enormous, while the visitors missed an opportunity to kill the tie through Gundogan, who missed it again from a close range.THU: 22.00: (1.37) BARCELONA (5.60) EINTRACHT FRANKFURT (8.50)Pep and Cholo were yelling from the sidelines as the clock was ticking 111th minute, and Correa found himself unmarked in the rivals’ area. Still, that very last gasp effort of his wasn’t good enough to fool Ederson, and the English champions began their celebration.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUEQuarter-final, second legTuesdayReal Madrid – Chelsea 2-3 (0-1) /5-4 on agg//Mount 15, Ruddiger 51, Werner 75 – Rodrygo 80, Benzema 96/Bayern – Villareal 1-1 (0-0) /1-2 on agg//Lewandowski 52 – Chukwueze 88/WednesdayAtl.Madrid – Man.City 0-0 /0-1 on agg/Liverpool – Benfica 3-3 (1-1) /6-4 on agg//Konate 21, Firmino 55, 65 – Ramos 32, Yaremchuk 73, Nunez 81/
