Fernando Torres hailed a fantastic night for Atletico Madrid and mission accomplished as they claimed a 1-0 first-leg victory over Bayern Munich in their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night.
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MADRID (AP) – It’s getting harder and harder to bet against Atletico Madrid.
It was thrilling stuff which got tenser as the game went into the closing minutes as Atletico tried to waste as much time as possible to the evident frustration of the Bayern players who saw three yellow cards as the clock ticked down. “We did our job and this result gives us the chance of going into Munich with possibilities”.
After Saul’s wonder goal, Bayern almost equalised moments later when Arturo Vidal’s looping header beat Atletico keeper Jan Oblak, only for Jose Gimenez to head the ball off the line.
Real Madrid and Manchester City drew 0-0 in their first-leg match in England on Tuesday.
Saul Niguez scored a sensational solo goal in the 11th minute as Bayern struggled to cope with Atletico’s intensity during a pulsating opening.
We did improve but we have a lot to do if Bayern are to make that final in Milan in May. “Everyone defended and everyone attacked”.
Guardiola’s team controlled possession but was not able to break through the tight defense set up by Simeone.
Inside the Bayern penalty area, the 21-year-old glanced up, picked his spot, and curled the ball past the despairing right hand of Manuel Neuer and into the bottom corner of the Bayern goal. “This is Simeone’s biggest achievement”. In defence, their goalkeeper and back four have conceded just 16 goals in the league this term to put themselves within touching distance of Barcelona in top spot.
Having knocked out tournament holders Barcelona in the quarter-finals, the Argentine is well place to book Atletico a second Champions League final spot in three seasons. The team plays Rayo Vallecano on Saturday at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
His dazzling strike was the only goal of either semi-final first leg, but deserves to stand alone.
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“We played very well and had enough goal chances, so I am pleased with the performance”.
