A mass brawl broke out before and after the referee blew the final whistle at the Metropolitano, indicating the end of the second leg, the tie, and Atletico Madrid’s hopes of winning the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League. Manchester City moved on to the semis.
A late goal from Kevin de Bruyne at the Etihad a week ago separated City from Atletico ahead of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg. Atleti had sat back for the entirety of the 90 minutes the week before, allowing City to control more and more of the game until a momentary lapse in concentration broke their resolve.
For the Rojiblancos to progress, a change in approach was needed, and the team required to be much more proactive, with the backing of the home crowd – which is exactly how the second leg of this tie played out.
Manchester City had the best chance to take the lead in the first half. An outside-of-the-boot pass from Riyad Mahrez had released Kyle Walker down by the touchline, and the Englishman’s pull-back across the box was poked into Ilkay Gundogan’s path by Phil Foden. Gundogan’s effort bounced off the post, and he headed the rebound straight at Felipe.
From then on, Atletico’s onslaught began. Antoine Griezmann shot the ball narrowly wide on the volley in the 57th minute before substitute Rodrigo de Paul put back-to-back chances on the wrong side of the post.
Atleti forged their clearest chance of the tie in the 86th minute when Angel Correa chested the ball down into the path of Matheus Cunha, but the attacker’s shot was blocked at close quarters by John Stones. Ederson fumbled the ball from the resulting corner, but Stefan Savic couldn’t make the custodian pay for his mistake.
A mass brawl broke out in the 89th minute when Felipe – already on a yellow card – fouled Foden before swinging his leg at the Englishman. In the aftermath of the skirmish, the Brazilian was sent off by the referee, while he also booked many others.
Despite the disadvantage, the Rojiblancos came within inches of taking the lead and leveling the tie on aggregate. Ederson, first, denied Yannick Carrasco in the eighth minute of stoppage time, and then Correa, four minutes later.
The late Atleti attack answered, City moved on to the semifinal, where they’ll face Real Madrid.
