Once again in the Champions League, the result didn't match the overall display, but Man United will happily take a draw at Atlético Madrid in its quest to advance.
Atletico were only 34 minutes ahead in the Champions League so far this season, but by halftime that figure had more than doubled. United had two-thirds of the ball but were dismissed in the first half to the point where Atletico didn't even touch the box. There was no attacking structure or sort of flow, a feeling rarely that could hurt Atlético, while at the other end it felt like any defender could make a mistake at any time.
Victor Lindelof was surprisingly selected to the right, a move that seemed awkward with Diogo Dalot, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Eric Bailly, all the more natural fullbacks, on the bench. Perhaps the idea was that he could work with Luke Shaw as third central defender and move forward, offering his bulk to help counter Atletico's physicality, but leaving United on his flank. From was exposed with a cross. Both came after set plays, and so in that sense neither was their fault, but both resulted in a general slowness to react.
The first scored, a seventh-minute corner was cut in half for Rennon Lodi, whose whipped ball was powerfully propelled by Joao Felix in front of David de Gea. Just before halftime, it was a ball from Lodi, who was struck against the bar by Sime Versalco, after taking a crucial out off Bruno Fernandes.
But it wasn't just about the size of the last four; It was about an out-of-sorts United being bullied by a more committed team. Harry Maguire had another poor night, while Rafael Varane had a five-minute spell in the first half when he could not make a five-yard pass. There has been a flicker of form in the league, but the concern is that United are nothing more than talented players who occasionally do genius things. Very little understanding of the structure remains.
United have become one of the Premier League's more leaky dressing rooms. There have been reports that coaching staff believe only two players are used to ball-oriented pressure, while Fred has openly stated that he thinks Ralph Rangnick's interim position is unfavourable.
"I know it's important to get good results in football as soon as possible, but it's also important to have a long-term plan," he said. "I think it's a little bad for us not to have one. Right now it's all about short-term goals. We don't know how it will be after this season is over."
Rangnik's approach is very different from that of his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and if he's struggling to make buy-in for his revolution, it's hardly surprising when players don't know if he's still in June. Will be ahead And then there's Cristiano Ronaldo, a player who has never been particularly diligent about his defensive responsibilities, which hardly fits Rangnik's vision. Despite his illustrious history against Atletico in the Champions League, he was, again, peripheral to United's normal game, failing to score a shot on goal. His main contribution to begging for a yellow card was every time he was fouled and often when he was simply evicted.
However, Ronaldo was involved in the creation of the equalizer, taking the ball to Fred, who found Bruno Fernandes who, after a gloomy night, slipped through a perfect pass to Elanga. Jan Oblak, who had been out of form this season, strangely came to his close post, with the 19-year-old slipping the ball past him to pull United level.
Anthony Elanga to the rescue! Man United pulls even thanks to the 19-year-old, who makes an immediate impact off the bench
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) February 23, 2022
(via @TUDNUSA) pic.twitter.com/xCHtFbExda
That has really been the story for Atletico this season. It hasn't been the defensive force of last season, and often lets soft goals go through moments of sluggishness. The benefits of the abolition of the away goal rule probably also came into play during the match, with Diego Simeone making an attacking substitution at 1–0 up, looking for a second rather than being content for not conceding an away goal.
One of those substitutes, Antoine Griezmann, hit the bar after another corner, but was caught by United. Sundar was not, and was convinced it was not, but the 1–1 draw represents an extremely positive outcome for United.