As loyal as I am to Manchester United, I know this game isn't something they can win, not because they don't have the quality for it but because they have been shaky like the waves of the season for a long time now. They win some matches you expect them to lose and lose the ones you expect them to win. They haven't been convincing and I knew a lot of expectations would be on Ronaldo, especially after his Tottenham heroics. I knew the team might not rise to the occasion against Atletico.
Yes, a lot has been said concerning how good United played and how the mistake of the referee made United win but let's face it, United dominated the match, yes, they played so well, yes, but I can count the number of chances they created and the threats they posed to Oblak on the tips of my fingers. United didn't test the goalkeeper as they should and yes, Atletico Madrid can also say the same but the one moment that counted for Atletico Madrid was taken by Lodi just before halftime and it was enough to give Atletico Madrid the passage into the Quarter Finals.
Even if Manchester United won against Atletico Madrid, I still doubt this team's credentials to get to the Semi-Final and it would be tough. I think it's better the way they dropped out of the competition now to save everyone the eventual heartbreak to come. Let them focus on the league now and even that one, they are at the mercy of Arsenal and Tottenham, provided they didn't win their outstanding games.
Manchester United need to be more aggressive in their approach. Sometimes they show promise but oftentimes they don't. For the kind of investment they have invested in this team, it's not promises the fans want to see but results. The results seem to be far off because they haven't gotten a coach that would be more ruthless than Ralf Rangnick. Credit to Ralf, he is not afraid of making tough decisions. He is not scared of dropping just anyone and we saw how he dropped Ronaldo for the game against City even though they claimed it was a hip problem but we all know that Ronaldo hardly gets injured. He just couldn't take the fact that he was dropped.
He seemed okay as a coach and his substitutions of late have been good. He knows when to bring the players in and when to risk the game by switching to 3 at the back to pile up the pressure. He is not without his faults too but it seems as though Manchester United's problems go skin deep and it would take a curse breaker to do anything meaningful with this club. I believe with what many people have seen of late, they can start giving Jose Mourinho the little respect he deserves, at least with his exploit of winning trophy with a much depleted squad as this.
Manchester United are out of the Champions League and it shouldn't be a surprise anyway. The real surprise was Ajax being dumped out with their talisman, Sebastian Haller. I knew this would be another tough match but seeing how Ajax scored 2 goals away, I felt with their quality they might just edge it against Benfica but Benfica got the better of them with a solitary goal, thanks to Nunez's goal in the 77th minute to all but end the dream of Ajax.
It's funny how life turns quickly. With so many people taunting Erik ten Hag to take over the reins at Manchester United to them doubting his credibility after his Ajax side got dumped out of the competition at the same time as United. I still feel he is a good coach, exciting and young...able to bring youths through the ranks but I don't know what he would do with this average United side anyway.
So, it's official and Atletico Madrid and Benfica both got through to the Quarter Finals of the UEFA Champions League. Congratulations to both teams.
Thank you for your time.
My pen doesn't bleed, it speaks, with speed and ease.
Still me,
My tongue is like the pen of a ready writer.
Olawalium; (Love's chemical content, in human form). Take a dose today: doctor's order.
