Atletico Madrid drew one stage nearer to their fantasy Champions League last on home turf by beating Thierry Henry's Monaco 2-0 on Wednesday to anchor their place in the last 16.
Atletico could scarcely have envisioned an all the more straight-forward entry into the thump out stages as a battling Monaco side, ridden with wounds and concentrated on staying away from transfer from Ligue 1, offered valuable little opposition at the Wanda Metropolitano.
A defeat looked conceivable when Koke and Antoine Griezmann put Atleti two up inside 30 minutes yet they dialed down and Monaco could have pulled an objective back, just for Radamel Falcao to miss a punishment against his previous club.
Stefan Savic was sent off in the wake of getting a second yellow card for the handball.
It was a frustrating end for Falcao, who had been given a plaque before commencement and cheered by the home fans when presented as a substitute in the second half.
"I will clutch this memory, of the fans continually indicating me friendship, I am cheerful and thankful to every one of them," Falcao said a short time later.
To return here for the last on June 1, Atletico should beat preferable rivals over this at the same time, after a moderate begin, their season has all the earmarks of being coming to fruition. They have now lost just once, but a pounding by Borussia Dortmund, in 16 matches.
"We expected to step forward," mentor Diego Simeone said. "Aside from the diversion in Dortmund, where we were a wreck toward the end, we've had a great competition up until this point."
Dortmund could yet grab top spot in Group An, especially given they confront Monaco last, with Atletico owning the somewhat harder last task away to Club Brugge.
Monaco, then, can't trump Brugge to third and a place in the Europa League, regardless of whether they, and Henry, have more genuine concerns locally.
"Leaving Europe is neither a wellspring of disappointment nor alleviation," Henry said. "Our genuine fights will come now against Montpellier and Amiens in the group."
Now and again, this match looked like a glass tie between a goliath and a rival a few levels beneath, yet Henry probably expected as much when he rested key players, including Falcao, and handled four youngsters in his beginning line-up.
"They saw Griezmann lift the World Cup and now they will play against him," Henry had said on Tuesday.
In the wake of beating Caen for their first win in his seven amusements, any energy Monaco had, took a thump. Twelve wounds and 10 points from 14 class recreations maybe gave Henry minimal decision.
The exact opposite thing a young group needs from home, against one of Europe's hardest adversaries, is to surrender early, not slightest because of a substantial portion of setback.
Koke was given excessively time to arrange his shot however the redirection off 17-year-old Benoit Badiashile was remorseless, and left goalkeeper Diego Benaglio stranded.
Thomas Lemar's sans twisting kick touched the outside of the post however as Atletico's strength ended up dug in, their force loosened as well.
Griezmann multiplied the lead in the 24th moment, getting on the half-turn and slipping Angel Correa free down the left. Correa's turning run put Jemerson on the ground, and he came back to Griezmann to contact into the far corner.
Falcao hit on cheers in the second half and as Atletico agreed to the win, Monaco a decent thrashing, he looked as amazed as anybody to take a punishment with eight minutes left.
Youri Tielemans' shot had been obstructed by the arm of Savic, who saw a second yellow card, regardless of whether replays recommended the choice was brutal.
Any expectations of the most impossible of rebounds were dashed, in any case, as Falcao sidefooted wide to deny himself an upbeat return and Monaco a resolve boosting wrap up.
0 Comments