Manchester United escaped the Wanda Metropolitano with a 1-1 draw despite a largely poor performance on Wednesday night.
United struggled throughout the game as Diego Simeone got the better of Ralf Rangnick in the tactical battle and after going ahead early on through a well-taken Joao Felix header, United were once again indebted to Anthony Elanga as he levelled late on to give United a boost ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford.
Rangnick made some big calls on the night with his team selection and they did not exactly pay off but in the end, it proved a good night's work and Elanga's equaliser puts United in a good position to go through to the next round.
And that's what the German would have been seeking ahead of the game, with the result not necessarily merited but certainly gleefully accepted by United.
The Good: Anthony Elanga
Elanga proved to be United's saving grace on the night. When he was brought on in the second half, he was the only player who seemed to provide any energy or movement to try and break down a resolute Atletico backline.
United had been struggling to put the hosts' defence under any pressure with neither Marcus Rashford nor Jadon Sancho able to make any sort of meaningful impact. Both players persisted in coming short to receive the ball and therefore allowed the Spanish side to counter-press and reposition their defence.
But Elanga consistently ran in behind and stretched Simeone's side, offering a different option and this verticality was key to him racing through to net the all-important goal United coveted.
Having received a sliderule pass from Bruno Fernandes, he capitalised on a rare error from Atletico at the back and slotted it past an onrushing Oblak. The goal capped off another eye-catching individual display and the Swedish winger is continuing to prove why he should be starting on United's right flank moving forward. On recent evidence, Sancho deserves to join him from the left - and that may leave Rashford out in the cold.
The Bad: Everyone else
Seriously, what was wrong with United tonight? The majority of the players looked especially leggy and the last time we checked, you don't tend to suffer jetlag when flying from Manchester to Madrid.
Fernandes was constantly either over hitting or under hitting balls into the box, while Rashford and Sancho looked completely ineffective on the wings and were closed down at every opportunity by Atletico.
As for Ronaldo, he was once again left looking completely isolated and on the rare occasions he did receive the ball, he seemed to be slowing down counter-attacks and was unable to link together the team's attacks.
All of what Rangnick had seemingly instilled in United's team over the past few weeks had vanished in the face of Atletico pressure from the outset and it's something the manager will need to rectify before the second leg.
The Ugly: Ralf Rangnick's experiments
Two changes on the teamsheet prompted pre-match bemusement among United fans in the hour leading up to kick-off. Firstly there was the selection of Victor Lindelof at right-back and secondly, the decision to deploy Paul Pogba in a deeper role in the absence of Scott McTominay due to illness.
Both experiments went as disastrously as most would have expected.
While Lindelof coped fine defensively when dealing with Joao Felix's movement into wide areas, it was the demands of his role in more advanced areas where the Swede came up short. His inability to bring the ball forward and a lack of progression in his passing hindered United and it was little surprise when he was withdrawn in the second half. The surprising aspect was that Aaron Wan-Bissaka replaced him over Diogo Dalot.
Pogba had little joy himself at playing passes with the necessary incision from the more reserved role he found himself in and Atletico, sensing an opportunity, were quick to apply pressure on the Frenchman whenever he had the ball. It led to a sub-par performance where he was unable to fully influence the game in an attacking sense as he had in previous matches while also being found wanting defensively. It wasn't until the introduction of Nemanja Matic that United regained a semblance of control in midfield.
Rangnick's initial tinkering did not ultimately prove too costly and his in-game management has recovered difficult situations in the last two matches but the hope is he doesn't tweak too much from the get-go in games to come and leave United with even more hurdles to overcome.
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