Draw Atletico is not a disaster for MU

 Draw Atletico is not a disaster for MU

The draw with Atletico Madrid on Spanish soil in the context of the away goal rule has been removed is an advantage for MU.

Conceding in the 7th minute and equalizing in the 80th minute on the opponent's field, there is a reason to think that MU escaped losing to Atletico Madrid. However, after the away goals rule is no longer applied, the draw in the first leg becomes completely void.

From this perspective, the successful equalization is clearly an acceptable result of the "Red Devils".

MU brother 1

Ronaldo did not score for MU against Atletico in Spain. Photo: Reuters.

Why did MU kick the first half not well?

MU has many ways to approach the match against Atletico, and being led early is not really surprising if the home team's firepower is placed next to the "Red Devils'" problematic defense.

Despite last weekend's goal against Leeds, Harry Maguire is still MU's fatal weakness. Atletico's Diego Simeone was very clever when he arranged Angel Correa and Joao Felix to pair up in the attack of the Spanish team to make the most of his ability to accelerate in a short distance to attack Maguire's position.

Atletico's opening goal is quite a testament to the war between Maguire and the Champions League level: Felix was too comfortable in the header to beat David de Gea without any obstacle from the central defender. of MU.

Looking back at the match from the press room, coach Rangnick admitted MU "did not play aggressively enough" in the first half. Despite holding the ball more (65%), MU only finished 1/3 of the opponent (2 times) and None of the shots hit the target.

MU brother 2

Maguire is still MU's weak point.

The timidity of most of the squad was accompanied by a heavy psychological burden because the early goal made MU not be themselves in the first half. "In the swamp" is how the Guardian describes MU in the first 45 minutes: "Can Rangnick make the players play bolder after the opening whistle? The answer is no. MU plays the ball as if in a swamp. ".

But MU got up in time with timely blood changes and the appearance of heroes.

The first hero of the "Red Devils" was Raphael Varane. The French star owns a series of impressive statistics such as winning 100% of the air dispute, passing the ball with 87% accuracy, 7 standard long balls, 5 times recovering the ball, 5 times breaking the ball... Thanks to his stability. Sure of Varane, MU gradually stabilized the game and launched attacks on Atletico's defense.

The second hero is Anthony Elanga. Having almost left in the winter transfer period, Elanga is gradually proving to be the most dangerous attack MU with the ability to move along the impressive vertical axis. The Guardian has this to say about Elanga: "Fearless finish. After proving himself in the Premier League with goals against Brentford and Leeds, this is the moment Elanga proves himself in the most prestigious arena." .

The last hero of MU is Bruno Fernandes. The perfect assist for Elanga is the 7th time the Portuguese midfielder has cleared the ground for his teammates in the Champions League this season. Every time he plays, Fernandes helps. In the context of MU struggling with a heavy-handed and somewhat violent football style because of Atletico's 5-man midfield, Fernandes is still the biggest bright spot.

As noted, MU's difficulty before Atletico was predicted before the ball rolled. Rio Ferdinand even said frankly that the possibility of MU winning the Champions League this season is "zero" when "there are at least 5 clubs better than them".

But the fact that the "Red Devils" got up at the right time and made Joao Felix's opening goal completely worthless is clearly a bright spot. The match lasted 90 minutes. After a disastrous first half, MU played well in the second half and finally turned the match at Old Trafford in the second leg into a decisive 90 minutes.

Looking at this aspect, it is clear that MU has won a victory against Atletico instead of escaping.