Ralf Rangnick suffered the next setback with England’s record champions Manchester United. Nine days after the 4-1 defeat in the city derby against Champions City, the interim team manager and the Red Devils were eliminated in the second round of the Champions League with a 0-1 (0-1) defeat against Atletico Madrid.
Renan Lodi (41st) sealed the end of the Premier League fifth after the 1-1 in the first duel, which gambled away its last chance for the title. United, who found themselves struggling against the disciplined defenders of the Spanish champions, had failed early on in both domestic cup competitions. Record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo remained pale.
Manchester started well in front of 73,000 spectators at Old Trafford, Anthony Elanga missed the first big chance when he shot the ball to goalkeeper Jan Oblak (13th). At the other end, Rodrigo de Paul was saved by United keeper David De Gea (16′), who made a brilliant save. The Red Devils dominated, Atletico countered: After a cross from Antoine Griezman, Lodi surprisingly headed the guests into the lead, Ronaldo loudly and with gestures complained about an alleged foul before the attack. Oblak prevented Bruno Fernandes from equalizing shortly before the break (45+2).
Immediately after the restart, Elanga just missed the far corner (46th). Ex-Dortmunder Jadon Sancho volleyed just over the bar (59′), then Raphael Varane failed with a header at Oblak (77′).
Benfica makes a lot out of little in Amsterdam
Benfica Lisbon, on the other hand, has disenchanted the attacking artists of Ajax Amsterdam and has reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in six years. The 37-time Portuguese champions happily won the round of 16 second leg against the Dutch record champions 1-0 (0-0) and managed the surprise with ex-Dortmund player Julian Weigl in the starting eleven after the 2-2 win in the first leg. Darwin Nunez scored the decisive goal (77th).
Amsterdam dominated from the start and at times squeezed the guests, but the hosts didn’t create any great chances. Lisbon defended skillfully but rarely put pinpricks. Ajax was also superior after the change, but too harmless. There was little to see of the splendor of the two wins against Borussia Dortmund in the preliminary round. Sebastien Haller, who had always scored in the first seven games in the premier class, was largely unsubscribed. Lisbon rarely advanced but took the first chance to take the lead. Nunez headed in from a free kick.