Man City

Follow all the action as Pep Guardiola's side host Diego Simeone's LaLiga champions in the last eight.

City topped their group in the earlier round, while Atletico were runners-up in theirs. At the weekend they warmed up for the tie with a routine victory over Burnley, while the Spanish side hammered Alaves to make it six straight wins in all competitions. Both Guardiola and opposite number Diego Simeone have faced heartache in the final of this competition with their current clubs, but City remain the favourites to go the distance this time - even if this will be a huge test for the Cityzens in the last eight.

Minute-by-minute report: Join Rob Smyth for updates as Diego Simeone's side return to Manchester after toppling United.

It’s Manchester City v Atletico Madrid, with the winners to face either Chelsea or Real Madrid in a semi-final which, whatever the permutation, will be loaded with meaning.The first leg of the quarter-final is at the Etihad tonight, with the second at the Wanda Metropolitano next Wednesday. City are strong favourites, for reasons that would be intelligence-insulting to explain, and all things being equal they will go through. But all things weren’t equal when Atletico put Guardiola’s Bayern out in the 2015-16 semi-final, or when they eliminated a rampant Liverpool two years ago, or when Pep was too funky by far against Spurs/Lyon/Chelsea.If Atletico can get out of Manchester with at worst a one-goal deficit, they will fancy their chances next week. They’ve won seven of their last eight games, and the eighth - a draw at home to Manchester United in the last 16 - ultimately led to victory. We want to impose our game but they are a good team - champions of Spain, and they have always had good results in Europe. They’re a tough opponent.“John [Stones] will play with Aymer in the centre and Nathan [will play at left-back]. We have players on the bench who can change the game - Gabi, Phil, Jack. But I decided to start with these guys today.”Manchester City’s Phil Foden (left) and Jack Grealish head out for the warm up. “Speaking of Football Weekly,” says Matt Burtz. “I’ve been a faithful listener for many years now, and I’ve always wondered if we’ll ever get to hear your dulcet tones as a panelist. But it’s the Withering Depths of Simeone’s sh!thousing Atletico that I’m looking forward to enjoying tonight.” It won’t be the same without Hector Herrera.

As Liverpool fans count down the days until the Reds take on Manchester City at the Etihad, the match officials have been confirmed.

Should the two top sides play out a draw, Jurgen Klopp's team will be relying on City to drop points elsewhere in their remaining seven fixtures in an attempt to wrestle the Premier League title away from Manchester and back to Merseyside. Tierney, from Salford, found himself at the centre of controversy back in February when he failed to award Liverpool's neighbours Everton a penalty against City after what appeared to be a blatant handball by Rodri. Although Tierney was the main match official on the day, he was not called to the pitch side monitor despite VAR reviewing the incident, with City going on to win the match 1-0 at Goodison Park. Anthony Taylor will take charge of Liverpool's crucial face-off with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, the Premier League has confirmed.

It could be a historic end to the season for City, but match of that will be shaped by what happens over the next two weeks. In between the two legs against ...

The Atletico man pokes it straight at Ederson when he really should have scored. Gundogan is the last man and slightly pulls him back but doesn’t want to fully do it. 54 mins: Reinildo lunges in on Mahrez - gets some of the ball but more of the man. They make a mess of it and all of a sudden Griezmann is breaking free. In between the two legs against Atletico is a pivotal Premier League clash against Liverpool this weekend. That could decide where the title goes, and the two sides then meet again on April 16 at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals. De Bruyne goes to the keeper’s side... Having knocked out Manchester United in the last round, they will have good memories returning to England tonight against Guardiola’s side. Oblak fumbles and kicks it away as he does. The Frenchman doesn’t have the necessary pace though, looks for the pass and it flies out of play. And again the home side completely waste it and allow Atletico to break. It could be a historic end to the season for City, but match of that will be shaped by what happens over the next two weeks.

John Stones is recalled, along with Bernardo and Riyad Mahrez who all sat out the victory at Turf Moor. Making way are Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and the ...

Fernandinho made his 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, on Matchday 8; he was the 44th player to reach a century of games in the competition. Scott Carson's substitute appearance in the round of 16 second leg against Sporting was just his second in the UEFA Champions League and came almost 17 years after his first, for Liverpool against Juventus in the quarter-final first leg on 5 April 2005. It will be nail-biting, thrilling and maybe even difficult to watch (depending on how your nerves are) – but what a privilege it is to be fighting out with the very best to ensure all the hard work that has gone before is rewarded with silverware.

Referee Taylor is from Wythenshawe in Manchester while VAR official Tierney hails from Wigan, which falls within the Greater Manchester area.

Liverpool fans have been left outraged after Anthony Taylor (left) and Paul Tierney (right) were appointed referee and VAR respectively for Sunday's title showdown with Man City With the two teams neck and neck at the top of the Premier League table, the Liverpool fanbase aren't best pleased that two men with Manchester connections will be in charge. 'Mancs refereeing Mancs!': Liverpool fans left FURIOUS after Anthony Taylor is put in charge of Sunday's title showdown with Man City with Paul Tierney VAR as Premier League chiefs are slammed as 'incompetent'

Atletico Madrid knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League, but Diego Simeone says his side will need to improve to do the same to Pep ...

We talked and he says 'I don't feel it, I don't like it'. That's when I said 'wow, this motherf***** will be good'." If the manager is not right, then the rest will just fall apart." City and Bayern Munich are the favourites, because of the characteristic of their players. He’s done great things. Back in February, former United captain Roy Keane singled out Simeone as a suitable candidate to become the next permanent manager at Old Trafford. "Maybe Simeone, he’s the right kind of character," he told the Overlap Live event. “We are playing against really tough opponents, who press high and flood the box with players.

Paul Tierney will serve as video assistant referee this weekend having enraged Jurgen Klopp during Liverpool's Premier League encounter at Tottenham in ...

He comes over and gives me a yellow card but I'd have preferred the right decisions on the pitch." Getting a positive result at the Estadio da Luz could be key as it would allow Klopp to make some changes for next week's second leg, which is sandwiched in-between the league clash with City and the FA Cup semi-final against the same opposition. "When you see the situation back, the VAR is there.

Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid. UEFA Champions League Quarter Final. 8:00pm, Tuesday 5th April 2022. Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City were reported to be in talks to sign the 37-year-old last summer but he made the sensational return to their local rivals and his former ...

‘I’ve been around the club long enough to know that they hardly ever get these decisions wrong. ‘That balance had to work, and I don’t think it has. I didn’t think the rest of the team would score goals as a direct result of him signing; someone was going to suffer.

When Manchester City at last breached the self-styled baddest, most cussed, most cynical defence in European football it felt like a dam had burst inside ...

Ake matches him stride for stride and nips ahead to poke the ball out of Llorente's reach and the Atletico midfielder kicks him on the ankle. City can't get behind the full-backs. Ake is on the left and Cancelo on the right. City corner on the left after diligent work from Vrsaljko to block Sterling's cross. They switch to the right instead but Felipe's 40-yard pass is uncontrollable and goes out for a City throw-in. City try a routine - Mahrez runs over the ball, De Bruyne dinks it to Gundogan who plays it back to Mahrez to shoot but before he can Lodi smashes him. City are thwarted by sheer weight of numbers after Foden scoots in from the right, feinting and accelerating, the ball under his immaculate control. Foden plays a magnificent pass with the outside of his left foot around Lodi and in to De Bruyne's feet as he ran to the left of the six-yard box. City crashed against Atlético’s defence with shots charged down and penalty appeals waved away. Neutrals as well as City fans should hope so. City dominated. A two-goal lead would surely have been enough to give City the belief that they would certainly be going through but it stayed at one.

Former Man United captain Rio Ferdinand couldn't help but fire at Man City ahead of their Champions League fixture against Atletico Madrid.

In his early career at Old Trafford, he previously spoke about not being able to walk past the legends of yesteryear for their success in Europe. So they don’t have that pressure - just wanted to put that out there." for the last two minutes."

Everything you need to know ahead of the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.

City topped their group in the earlier round, while Atletico were runners-up in theirs. At the weekend they warmed up for the tie with a routine victory over Burnley, while the Spanish side hammered Alaves to make it six straight wins in all competitions. Both Guardiola and opposite number Diego Simeone have faced heartache in the final of this competition with their current clubs, but City remain the favourites to go the distance this time - even if this will be a huge test for the Cityzens in the last eight.

Foden supplied the match-winning assist 80 seconds after coming off the bench - City's Plan B is a luxury that every other club would envy as a Plan A.

There is no worse side in Europe to fall behind against, whether that’s over one leg or two. If City were complicit in that struggle, it was through failing to move the ball quicker through midfield and repeatedly wasting crosses by hitting the first or second man at barely above head height. - Felix – 6 - Mahrez – 6 It also occasionally gets vaguely unpleasant. For most of Tuesday evening, Pep Guardiola pointed and screamed like a frazzled conductor in charge of four different orchestras as Manchester City struggled to break down a comedically defensive Atletico Madrid, albeit one that did flicker on the counter attack after the break.

Diego Simeone was full of praise for Manchester City after seeing his Atletico Madrid side beaten in the Champions League quarter final first leg.

But we were both seeking the same thing, winning." We wanted to defend well, squeeze spaces and hit them on the counterattack. City had all of the possession against the Spanish champions, but struggled to create a clear opening until Phil Foden came off the bench and immediately fed Kevin De Bruyne to give them a 1-0 advantage going into the second leg.

Pep Guardiola has pledged to attack Atlético Madrid next week as he has targeted a place in the Champions League semi-finals.

We go there not to defend the result but to try and win the game.” We have to go to Madrid now and use the tools at our disposal.” “We will go there to score and try and win again,” Guardiola said.

Manchester City 1-0 Atletico Madrid: Kevin De Bruyne scored the game's only goal on 70 minutes at the Etihad after Foden's magical assist.

Atletico are going to have to do much more than aggravate City players in the second leg. For that superb 70th-minute moment of inspiration Foden just used his feet to devastating effect, dribbling at a speed the Atletico defenders just couldn’t cope with it. City didn’t even have a shot on target in the first half. The 2016 Griezmann would have scored. The 2016 Griezmann did score. They just didn’t have the pace. Antoine Griezmann certainly didn’t have the pace he used to. For a coach so often accused of doing something different for the sake of it, Guardiola here started with a tactic he had used before. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. In the 2015-16 semi-final, Guardiola instructed his Bayern Munich team to keep crossing the ball at Atletico. That may seem aimless given how good Simeone’s defenders are in the air, but the logic is they are so intensely focused on specific jobs that second balls are a potential source of weakness. For the second of those breaks, in a passage of play that initially seemed a replica of the crucial goal in 2016, the French star was suddenly away. no one there.

Get a report of the Manchester City vs. Atletico Madrid 2021-22 UEFA Champions League, Quarterfinals football match.

They have scored so many goals at home in the recent past," the Atleti boss said. "We didn't play the way we wanted in the first half, we couldn't break out. "It is not easy to face a team with a lot of experience in this tournament. "We played an incredible top side who are difficult to face but it is a good result," he said, while praising his players for avoiding some of the potential flashpoints in the game. They played with almost five at the back and with five in midfield. If the game is tight they will have to attack a little bit more."

With a return leg in Madrid and Liverpool looming, Phil Foden signaled to Pep Guardiola that he should start in Manchester City's upcoming gantlet.

I like to watch Manchester play, the patience they have to play." Almost immediately he picked up the ball in a tight space on the edge of the box, drew five Atletico defenders toward him and lifted his head to slip a pass through to De Bruyne. It was one of two outstanding moments of quality in the game, the other coming from Foden again when he danced his way down the byline to create another chance for De Bruyne. It might not be football to drool over, but Atletico have turned defending into an art form, and with two thirds of the game gone, City's best chance was an Aymeric Laporte header from a corner. Guardiola and Simeone wore the same long black coat on the touchline to guard against the Manchester rain, but their footballing styles could not have been more different. Had Foden stayed on the bench, City might not have found a way through Simeone's rigid game plan and would be heading to Spain next week with the tie on a knife edge. "A difficult game against a tough opponent, it's so difficult to find gaps," Guardiola said afterward.

Kevin De Bruyne scored the only goal to give Manchester City a slender first-leg win against a typically stubborn Atlético side in the UEFA Champions League ...

Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City midfielder, speaking to BT Sport: "The first half was tight, in the second half we had a couple of chances and it was good that we took one. We had chances to score a second and third. Atléti don't simply have to overturn this deficit – they have to cope with facing a City side who are devastating on the counterattack. City fans and players alike had to endure 70 minutes of intense frustration before Kevin De Bruyne finally broke the deadlock. If some critics thought Atléti were lambs to the slaughter against a rampant, clever, mobile City side then the general pattern of this match defied the assumed logic. "In a game that was suffocated in the first half with slow build-up and poor shot options, he looked most likely to provide an assist.

Sports Desk, Apr 5 (EFE).- Atletico Madrid held mighty Manchester City to one goal Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal and though ...

Benfica looked dangerous for a spell, but Reds goalkeeper Alisson dealt with their best chance, a shot by Everton, and Luis Diaz sealed the victory with a goal in the 87th minute. Four minutes into the second half, a blunder by Konate allowed Darwin Nuñez to pull back a goal for the hosts and bring the crowd back into the contest. While the Colchoneros would end the game with 29 percent possession and zero shots, they limited City to two shots on target and kept the hosts off the scoreboard until the 70th minute, when Kevin de Bruyne scored with a tremendous assist from late sub Phil Foden.

Wayne Rooney has delivered a Premier League title verdict Manchester United supporters will surely like, as Manchester City and Liverpool go head-to-head ...

"They both might be the two best teams in Europe at this moment in time and I think City's response to Liverpool winning the early kick-off on Saturday was massive and that is what champions do. During a guest appearance on Sky Sports show Monday Night Football, former United striker Rooney said: " I wish none of them [would win the title] to be honest. However, as far as United are concerned, the battle for that trophy could not be following a more undesirable script.

Manchester City have a slender lead from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final after Kevin De Bruyne's 70th minute goal earned them a 1-0 ...

"It is not easy to face a team with a lot of experience in this tournament. They have scored so many goals at home in the recent past," he said. If the game is tight they will have to attack a little bit more," added the Belgian. It is the way they play. They played with almost five at the back and with five in midfield. I recommend anyone that says anything ... that they try playing against that on the training ground.

Pep Guardiola insists his Manchester City side will continue to attack in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Atletico ...

Lescott said on BT Sport: “Phil Foden is associated with Man City and I know what it means for him to play for the club. "It is not easy to face a team with a lot of experience in this tournament. It works sometimes but other times it doesn't.

The Premier League have confirmed that referee Anthony Taylor will be in charge as Liverpool and Man City face off in a potential title decider at the ...

The Premier League have confirmed that referee Anthony Taylor will be in charge as Liverpool and Man City face off in a potential title decider at the Etihad on Sunday. Read More Liverpool Coverage Anthony Taylor Confirmed As Referee for Liverpool vs Man City Title Decider

Former defenders Joleon Lescott and Rio Ferdinand believe Phil Foden has to start when Manchester City host Liverpool on Sunday in the Premier League.

However, the former appears to have recovered well from a recent injury layoff and should start for the Reds on Sunday in Manchester. Foden was City's standout performer when the two sides met at Anfield earlier in the season, excelling on the left flank and scoring his team's first equaliser in a 2-2 draw. But when he contributes as he done tonight, pfft..

With a monumental Premier League clash this weekend that could decide the league title, both sides made it through midweek Champions League victories ...

That would mean no room for Nathan Ake, who started both against Burnley and again against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. It's likely that Jack Grealish retakes his place on the left wing, while Phil Foden comes back in at striker and Raheem Sterling slides over to the right, which is the same configuration used against Burnley last weekend. Gundogan has played fewer minutes over the past few months, as Pep seems to be slowly phasing the German international out. Zinchenko has struggled to find time in the Man City lineup, but could be a rested option on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp's biggest decision comes up front, as Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah both came off on the hour mark against Benfica, but have displayed tired legs over the past few weeks as the minutes mount for both club and country. For Man City, Oleksandar Zinchenko was benched for the entire match, with Nathan Ake brought in to play left back.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp looks ahead to huge showdown at Man City after 3-1 win away to Benfica in Champions League.

“We play now against the best team in the world, but we will give it a try anyway. Yes, everyone knows about the importance of the next game, but after this game there will be other games other competitions but also in the Premier League as well. “So what we did in the last few months, six, seven or eight months since the season started we created a basis.

Manchester City manager made three substitutions to change the course of their quarter-final clash with Atletico Madrid.

They have so good, if you are not attacking in the right way they punish you." And Guardiola made the point that, while his side are doing brilliantly without a recognised striker, the lack of one has forced him to use players who are better in other roles. But Guardiola included Grealish - part of a triple substitution along with Foden and Gabriel Jesus - in his appraisal of how the game changes once his attacking options were shuffled.

Kevin de Bruyne has stated Manchester City's Premier League title clash against Liverpool on Sunday is going to be 'pretty big'.

“Win, draw or lose, then there is still a lot to play for. “As a player, you want to win games and trophies. I think the players will take it as a privilege to play these games.

Get a report of the Manchester City vs. Atletico Madrid 2021-22 UEFA Champions League, Quarterfinals football match.

They have scored so many goals at home in the recent past," the Atleti boss said. There will be a referee there and we have to play our game. "We didn't play the way we wanted in the first half, we couldn't break out. "It is not easy to face a team with a lot of experience in this tournament. If the game is tight they will have to attack a little bit more." They played with almost five at the back and with five in midfield.

Phil Foden came off the bench to help Man City see off Atletico Madrid in their Champions League clash but Pep Guardiola admits the second-half change was a ...

It’s difficult to face a team with a lot of experience in this kind of competition, we’re going to go there and try to win the game. They played with almost five at the back and with five in midfield. "I made the run and Phil [Foden] found me perfectly, I needed to stay composed and luckily I did.

The Belgian marked his 50th Champions League appearance for the Club with the only goal in our gutsy 1-0 quarter-final first leg win over Atletico Madrid. It ...

It’s fantastic for the attackers.” “He leads that group of players, and you can see that he really wants to win this tournament.” “He’s that one guy who might not even be playing well but if you make that run, he will still try and make that pass.

Atletico Madrid trail Manchester City 1-0 after the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final at the Etihad.

City play using possession as a strength but we were clear-headed all night, we closed space down and I don't think it was specifically their substitutions that changed the game – just that one moment." We came looking for a good result, we lost but at 1-0 down the tie is still very much all to play for," he said. "We all knew that this would be a complicated experience.

City will take a narrow but fully deserved 1-0 lead to Madrid next week after a gruelling, hard-Fought first leg at the Etihad.

Watch more. Watch more. Watch more. "But yeah, it was a good result today. Watch more. Read more. Read more. View more. Pep Guardiola paid tribute to the ‘special qualities' of Phil Foden after his introduction from the bench helped inspire City to a deserved 1-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg win over Atletico Madrid. Watch more. "It was a difficult game against tough opponents - they played two banks of 5 for the first 25-30 minutes and it was so difficult to find spaces - but we were patient enough except for the first 10. The visitors tried to engage City in a series of squabbles and numerous rolling around on the floor but the referee was having none of it. But one moment of magic from Phil Foden finally unlocked the Atleti defence for Kevin De Bruyne to slot home the only goal of the game.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists beating Manchester City will not guarantee them success in the Premier League despite Sunday's meeting being billed ...

“Now it is time for it to settle. It was an important game (in Lisbon) for Mo and Sadio. One could score, one could not. “Since late December it was clear if we want to achieve something we had better win all our games. “In that situation everyone wants to score. “We are in the quarter-final, the semi-final (of the FA Cup) and the further you go in competitions the harder it gets,” he added. “Everyone knows about the importance of the next game, but after this game there will be other game in another competition but also in the Premier League as well.

Two football hooligans have been banned from watching Manchester City play for FOUR years after they were both involved in violent disorder at TWO games.

“Callum Wright is at the back of the group, and other individuals throw cans at the store. “Punches were thrown and bottles were used as a weapon at one stage.” Boxes were scattered in the road and the store shutters were damaged. “Cameron Bradley ran down with the City supporters at the front of the group with his fist raised. One of the windows was cracked, stock had been thrown around the shop and shopping baskets were strewn in the streets. They were both initially spotted in Manchester, when City played Lyon at the Etihad Stadium on September 19 2018 at a Champions League fixture.

The best of the action from our Champions League quarter-final, first leg...

Manchester City take on Tottenham in the U17 Premier League Cup final at 7pm on Wednesday evening.

I will remind the boys about that because in a one-off game anything can happen. I certainly believe that we were the best team in the FA Youth Cup," he said. City are clear at the top of the Under-18s league, putting them in a good position to defend the title they won last year with an older age group. "From a development point of view, these are the games that we want to see the lads in," he said. "We want to put them in this situation as many times as we can to see what they're like playing under a little more pressure. It is set to be a busy few months at the City Football Academy, with all three men's teams and the women's team all in the hunt for silverware.

The Manchester City boss' tactics have come under the spotlight again as the Blues begin a pivotal couple of weeks in their season.

He gets it right most of the time.” Guardiola has received some flak for City's European exits over the years, with the City boss accused of overthinking his selections and tactics. With Manchester City heading into a pivotal couple of weeks, their manager has come under the spotlight as they look to win a memorable treble.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists beating Manchester City will not guarantee them success in the Premier League despite Sunday's meeting being billed ...

“Now it is time for it to settle. It was an important game (in Lisbon) for Mo and Sadio. One could score, one could not. “Since late December it was clear if we want to achieve something we had better win all our games. “In that situation everyone wants to score. “We are in the quarter-final, the semi-final (of the FA Cup) and the further you go in competitions the harder it gets,” he added. “Everyone knows about the importance of the next game, but after this game there will be other game in another competition but also in the Premier League as well.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool team head to Manchester City this weekend in a game which is sure to have huge ramifications on the destination of the Premier ...

Yes, everyone knows about the importance of the next game, but after this game there will be other games in other competitions but also in the Premier League as well. “We play now against the best team in the world, but we will give it a try anyway. “So what we did in the last few months, six, seven or eight months since the season started we created a basis.

Atletico Madrid have started cranking up the mind games ahead of next week's second leg with midfielder Koke aiming an icy blast at Pep Guardiola.

In the second half we could have attacked a bit better in a few situations on the counter-attack. And he simply seemed to be stressing the point that it has always been difficult to play against two banks of five. Apart from the fact that they are very competitive and defend very well, there is no space.”

Who should start in Klopp's front three against City this Sunday? ECHO writers Richard Garnett and Theo Squires give their picks.

They start on the flanks with Sadio Mane down the middle. Maybe one game on the bench can reignite his Autumn form and give him that fire in the belly back. When you look at their respective run-ins, it feels like the Reds have to win if they are to win the title.

John Stones has said Manchester City will call on their experience of the 2019 title race to see off Liverpool's challenge this season.

"This week is vital for us in how we prepare and we stay calm about that because we've been in situations like this before," Stones said. "There's obviously that extra buzz about the game personally and what it means but it is just another game. "We went 14 games unbeaten and we know every game is so important to us.

Luis Suarez and Atletico Madrid teammate Rodrigo de Paul showed their respect for Manchester City before their Champions League quarter-final kicked-off at ...

Atletico travel to Mallorca for their next La Liga encounter on Saturday while City host title rivals Liverpool in a monumental clash at the top of the table. They play the same way at home or away and are possibly the best team in the world. We tried to play a tight game to come out on the counter-attack in the first half.

It's first against second in one of the most hotly anticipated Premier League clashes of the season…

Under-18s assistant lead Calum McFarlane says there is an eager sense of anticipation amongst the City youngsters ahead of Wednesday night's Premier League ...

“It’s really good as we have competition all over and that adds to training and what it is like in the real world for these lads. “We’ve done well in this competition, so we have got the league where we are in a really good position for, and we’ve got the Cup final to play for as well. “It’s great when you have more than one competition to strive towards as it adds to the culture of this group and what we are doing every day.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists beating Manchester City will not guarantee them success in the Premier League despite Sunday's meeting being billed ...

“Now it is time for it to settle. It was an important game (in Lisbon) for Mo and Sadio. One could score, one could not. “Since late December it was clear if we want to achieve something we had better win all our games. “In that situation everyone wants to score. “We are in the quarter-final, the semi-final (of the FA Cup) and the further you go in competitions the harder it gets,” he added. “Everyone knows about the importance of the next game, but after this game there will be other game in another competition but also in the Premier League as well.

Phil Foden provided the moment of quality Manchester City needed to beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday evening.

It was another moment of standout quality from the 21-year-old and only highlighted just how big a future he has ahead of him, both at the Etihad Stadium and on the international stage with England. He said: "The guys were playing well but we know Gabriel and Phil have a special energy and Jack for the quality of keeping the ball. The City academy graduate, who had stepped off the bench just two minutes earlier to replace Riyad Mahrez, jinked his way past three players in red and white and cleverly slipped it through for City's chief tormenter.

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has defended Manchester City's decision not to put all of their eggs in one basket last summer and complete the ...

"It is very rationally managed and if they decided that the maximum they were going to put in there was £100million, and they did it, I respect that. Wenger also backed City to the hilt when asked if the club would have secured Kane's signature if they had upped their bid to sign the striker by another £40million or £50million, adding: "For me, personally, I believe that City is a very well-run club. City's decision to invest £100million in Grealish has attracted criticism throughout the season, raising endless opinions that the club should have tried to sign Kane instead.

Don't be mad at Diego Simeone's defensive tactics, nor Pep Guardiola's overthinking. Tuesday night's game was two managers leaning into stereotypes.

And when they adopt diametrically opposed game plans and are (mostly) flawless, this is what you get: a stalemate decided in the blink of an eye. City's are passing, movement and winning the ball back quickly after losing it (something they didn't do often because they rarely lost the ball). Atletico's -- much as they'd like to become a bit more multifaceted -- are ultimately stout defending and organization. That may have been down to the fact that Zinchenko, who was on the bench, had not started a game in nearly a month and, understandably, may be weighed down by the horrors unfolding in his native Ukraine. When this happens, there are three ways to break the stalemate: a defensive error, a refereeing mistake or some unscripted individual brilliance. It was more the choice of leaving Phil Foden on the bench, moving Bernardo Silva up front and sticking Ilkay Gundogan in midfield. Both were really effective at what they do, and what we got was immovable object besting unstoppable force for most of the game. You expect teams to play their strengths, which is exactly what Simeone and Guardiola did. They failed to make a single attempt at goal throughout the game. It's not so much that with Joao Cancelo forced to play on the right due to Kyle Walker's suspension, he opted for Nathan Ake -- more of a center-back throughout his career -- at left-back instead of Zinchenko, City's first choice over the past few seasons. The "overthinking" charge doesn't come out of thin air -- his critics will bring up dropping Yaya Toure against Monaco in 2016-17, deploying Aymeric Laporte at left-back against Liverpool in 2017-18, leaving out Kevin De Bruyne against Spurs in 2018-19, switching to a back three with two holding midfielders against Lyon in 2019-20 and even going without a defensive midfielder in last year's final against Chelsea -- but you also need to view it in context. And yet here's the thing about cliches: Often they contain more than a kernel of truth. Anyone who has watched LaLiga over the past year or so will have seen Simeone try to wean Atleti off his "Cholista" roots in an effort to play more proactive, attacking football.

Manchester City overcame Atletico Madrid but Luis Suarez caused a stir with his gesture prior to kick-off.

For Pep Guardiola, he will be hoping they can at least maintain their lead in the return leg but their attention quickly turns to the top-of-the-table clash against Liverpool. This prompted a number of fans to take to Twitter and repeatedly publish the video. And the competition's social media channels were quick to pick up on the gesture, captioning posts: "Luis Suarez. Respect."