Manchester United were spared a damaging and deserved defeat by Atletico Madrid on Wednesday as Anthony Elanga’s late goal rescued them a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Champions League last 16.
Atletico outplayed a sluggish United for the majority of the match at the Wanda Metropolitano and might have considered Joao Felix’s early goal scant reward heading into the second leg at Old Trafford in three weeks’ time.
But rather than extend their advantage, Atletico squandered it, Elanga racing onto a Bruno Fernandes through ball and applying a cool finish with 10 minutes left to earn United a draw that felt like a victory.
United boss Ralf Rangnick was asked in his press conference what he told the United players at half-time.
“I told them this is not enough,” he said. “We have to have more energy. It’s not about game-plans or tactics. It’s about conviction. It’s about belief. This is not enough. This is the Champions League.”
Atletico’s Sime Vrsaljko had already hit the crossbar at the end of the first half and Antoine Griezmann was also denied a late winner by the woodwork after Elanga’s equaliser.
But while United will breathe a sigh of relief at the result, this was another performance to prompt serious concerns about their progress and direction under interim-coach Ralf Rangnick.
In the first half, they failed to register a single touch in the Atletico Madrid box, the first time that has happened to a United side in the Champions League since at least 2005.
Cristiano Ronaldo was up against a familiar foe in Atletico, with 25 goals in 35 games against Diego Simeone’s team, and 10 in his last 10, including three hat-tricks.
But the Portuguese star cut a frustrated and isolated figure up front, his biggest contribution was being the target for the enthusiastic whistling and booing from the Atletico supporters.
Both Rangnick and Simeone have a veteran scorer whose needs perhaps come at the expense of the team, but while Rangnick started the 37-year-old Ronaldo, Simeone dropped the 35-year-old Luis Suarez, with Felix and Angel Correa named up front instead.
Ajax draw 2-2 with Benfica
Sebastien Haller kept up his remarkable scoring record in this season’s Champions League, finding the target at the right end shortly after putting through his own net as Ajax drew 2-2 with Benfica in their last 16, first leg match.
Haller’s 26th-minute own goal cancelled out Dusan Tadic’s opener for the Dutch champions at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, but the Ivory Coast striker then put Ajax back in front just three minutes later.
It was not enough for Erik ten Hag’s side to win the game, as Ukraine international Roman Yaremchuk came off the bench in the second half to earn Benfica a deserved draw.
However, Haller has now scored 11 goals in this season’s Champions League after ending the group stage in double figures.
“We are a bit frustrated. We could and should have done better and we are a bit disappointed to leave here having drawn 2-2,” Haller told French broadcaster Canal Plus.
Of his own goal, he added: “It’s not the best feeling, especially as it gave them the equaliser and gave them a lift. It was a blow to our morale but it is our job to remain focused, to not let our heads go down in such a situation.”
Having never played in the competition before this season, Haller is the first player to score in each of his first seven Champions League appearances.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Ruud van Nistelrooy have scored in more consecutive Champions League matches, with Ronaldo doing so in 11 straight games between 2017 and 2018.
The former West Ham United man is also just the second Ajax player to score 11 goals in Europe in the same season, after Ruud Geels in 1975/76.