Manchester United and Ajax have ended their journey in the UEFA Champions League from the Round of 16. Last night, Atletico Madrid beat the Red Devils at Old Trafford, while Benfica knocked out Ajax at Amsterdam Arena. Both Manchester United and Ajax lost the match at their home ground. As a result, Man United will pass this season without a trophy. It’s been five years since the Red Devils won their last silverware.
Manchester United VS Atletico Madrid
Due to the first leg being tied at Wanda Metropolitano, both sides needed a victory in this second leg. So last night, the managers of both teams played their best possible XI at Old Trafford. Manchester United’s interim manager, Ralf Rangnick, got some key players back in this game who missed the first leg against Atletico Madrid. Bruno Fernandez and Edinson Cavani are among them.
However, the home team manager set up the team formation with 4-2-3-1. He benched Paul Pogba and started with Bruno Fernandez. On the other hand, Diego Simeone played his team in a 3-1-4-2 formation. Skipper Koke returned to the squad through this match.
Both teams started playing aggressive football from the beginning of the match. Moreover, the Red Devils got a tremendous crowd from the gallery. On the 13th minute of the match, the home side could have scored a goal if Jaan Oblak had not blocked a shot from Anthony Elanga. Three minutes later, the Man United goalkeeper made a stunning save to deny the visitors a goal. However, the visitors took the lead just before half-time as Renan Lodi found the net with a header. As a result, the first half ended in 1-0 to Atletico Madrid.
Returning from the break, the home team tried desperately to find the equalizer. But, the visitors defended very well. Rangnick deployed Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba, and Edinson Cavani at the very last moment. Unfortunately, no one could score for the team. So after 90 minutes, Atletico Madrid won the match and have qualified for the quarter-final.
Benfica knocked out Ajax.
Ajax have been in brilliant form this season. But Benfica, the Portuguese club, eliminated Ajax FC from the round of 16. The match was decided by only one goal. However, both teams didn’t find the net in the first half. In the second half, Benfica looked dangerous whenever they got the ball. Finally, they netted the ball in the 77th minute. After that, the home team couldn’t find the net in the remaining minutes. So Benfica won the match and have secured their place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.