UCL Round 16 Day 4 Wrap: Atletico hold Man United; Benfica, Ajax play out a 2-2 draw
Anthony Elanga struck just five minutes after coming off the bench to earn Manchester United an unlikely 1-1 draw against Atlético in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.
The 19-year-old had been on the pitch less than six minutes after replacing Marcus Rashford, when he raced onto Bruno Fernandes’ perfectly-weighted pass to roll the ball past home goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Until that point it had looked as though Diego Simeone’s Spanish champions were going to take a narrow advantage to Old Trafford after delivering a masterclass in controlling the game without dominating possession.
Joao Felix’s early header from Renan Lodi’s inviting cross gave the hosts a dream start with United looking ragged on their right, where interim boss Ralf Rangnick’s gamble of playing Victor Lindelof at full-back failed badly.
The Swedish central defender looked uncomfortable throughout and was booked for a tug on Felix before his miserable evening was ended prematurely by his withdrawal midway through the second half.
By then Atletico could and perhaps should have been two goals ahead with Sime Vrsaljko heading the ball off Lindelof and onto the United bar in the closing moments of the first half after some more dismal defending.
While Rangnick’s side enjoyed plenty of the ball, they were slow and indecisive in possession and barely looked capable of carving open their well-drilled opponents who repeatedly picked off every sloppy United pass in midfield.
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Atletico were also unlucky to not score late on themselves when Antoine Griezmann rattled the visitors crossbar.
However, Elanga, who missed the crucial penalty when Rangnick’s side lost in the FA Cup to Middlesbrough earlier this month, followed up his goal at Leeds on Sunday with another important intervention to change the complexion of the tie before the second leg in Manchester in three weeks time.
Sébastien Haller scored at both ends as a barnstorming UEFA Champions League round of 16 encounter ended all square between Ajax and Benfica in Lisbon.
Ajax won six out of six in the group stage and picked up where they left off here, Antony’s outrageous nutmeg in the opening 60 seconds setting the tone. They were ahead on 18 minutes, Dušan Tadić applying the cool final touch to punish Benfica for some lax play at the back.
Jan Vertonghen soon made amends for the collective, fizzing in a cross following a corner that struck Haller’s foot and rolled into the net. The towering striker was far more assured at the other end three minutes later, tucking in his 11th of the competition in this, his first season.
Haller almost made it 12 on half-time but couldn’t quite adjust when Edson Álvarez’s effort cannoned off the post into his path. Benfica were rocking but after the break Rafa Silva and Darwin Núñez got them rolling.
The pressure cranked up until Gonçalo Ramos’s shot was parried and substitute Roman Yaremchuk won the race to nod it in.
Ajax host the return match at the Amsterdam Arena on March 15.
