Man City

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.

Manchester City welcome Atlético Madrid for this week's Champions League last eight first leg clash. Here's all you need to know about the game.

It would be boring if I always played the same way. Tonight I will take inspiration and I’m going to do incredible tactics tomorrow. The match will be shown live on BT Sport 2. “Every player has a mother and father, and the mother and father give different personalities to the players. What are the managers saying? What are the match odds?

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

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.

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.

Plenty of Manchester City supporters have taken to social media to react to Pep Guardiola's chosen line-up against Atletico Madrid in the first-leg of his ...

A host of Manchester City fans have taken to social media to react to Pep Guardiola's chosen XI to face Atletico Madrid in the first-leg on Tuesday night. The Blues, who secured a 5-0 aggregate victory over Sporting Lisbon in the Round of 16 stage, are set to welcome the Spanish champions to the east side of Manchester after Atletico Madrid knocked Manchester United out to set up a meeting with the Premier League champions. "No Foden, No Party", "Overthinking AGAIN!" - Many Man City Fans React to Pep Guardiola's Team Selection Against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League

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'

Manchester City and Liverpool face off on Sunday in a match that could decide the Premier League title.

As both Taylor and Tierney are from the Greater Manchester region, Liverpool fans on social media have been left up in arms and have claimed it's unfair to have them in charge of a match between a team from Manchester against them. However, what seems to be a large chunk of Liverpool fans have been left engaged in the build-up after the Premier League confirmed who would be officiating the match. As a result, whoever wins Sunday's bout at the Etihad will take the ascendency in the title race for the last few weeks of the season.

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.

Manchester City host Atletico Madrid tonight in their heavyweight Champions League clash.

This is the first competitive meeting between the two teams. This is a truly fascinating match-up between two coaches who often have very different ideas about how to play the game. The Etihad Stadium in Manchester will host the first-leg match.

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

Kevin De Bruyne struck 20 minutes from time as Manchester City grabbed a slender advantage in their Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid.

Laporte then went close when he headed over from a corner. Yet it was a move that paid off as City began to threaten more. Within moments he had slipped in De Bruyne with a delicate through ball and he finished firmly to put City in control heading into next week's second leg in the Spanish capital.

Ahead of a potential title-deciding clash in the Premier League, Man City and Liverpool did little to dispute the notion that a Champions League final matchup ...

It was another night that highlighted the quality of the Premier League’s top two—and there could be quite a few more to come, both domestically against each other in England and on the road to Paris, where their burgeoning rivalry could reach its climax. It was a triple substitution from Guardiola that led to the deadlock being broken, as Foden had been on the pitch for less than two minutes when he slid a pass through for Kevin De Bruyne to score with 20 minutes remaining. There was no particularly odd pick here, the only slightly surprising selections being the preference for Bernardo Silva over Phil Foden as the false nine and Nathan Ake being deployed at left back with João Cancelo on the right in the absence of the suspended Kyle Walker.

The Belgian playmaker fired home from a tight angle after Phil Foden came off the bench to stunning effect in a tense and tight first leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet it was a move that paid off as City began to threaten more. City appealed for another penalty for a push by Reinildo on Sterling as he attempted to latch onto a De Bruyne through ball but referee Istvan Kovacs was not interested. Laporte then went close when he headed over from a corner.

Pep Guardiola drew first blood in his managerial chess match with Diego Simeone, seeing his second-half substitute Phil Foden carve out the only goal of this ...

Simeone blinked first, making a triple substitution with half an hour to go. The first half was an extraordinary showcase in what makes Atletico, and renegade Simeone, tick. Not that there were many of those. Atletico kicked off nominally in a 5-3-2 formation. At least there was now a danger of a football contest breaking out and City soon threatened from the second of two free-kicks won in quick succession on the edge of the area, after a foul by Renan Lodi on Riyad Mahrez. It said everything that the Romanian referee could not even find a solitary minute of added time at the end of the first period, so ruthlessly lean and efficient had the visitors been in strangling the life out of the tie.

Man City 1-0 Atletico Madrid: The English champions will take a narrow lead to the Spanish capital after Kevin De Bruyne scored a vital winner at the Etihad ...

But it is just as easy to forget that the false 9, in this case Bernardo, coming short to link play allowed the cross to come in in the first place. But telling Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann that they won't see much of the ball and they need to do a job for the team is a different kettle of fish. Guardiola's system paid dividends but the narrative was still that they needed a natural goalscorer. The possession stats made for difficult reading for the visitors - but that is nothing new. Whatever anyone's thoughts are on Atletico and the tactics they employ - one thing you have to credit their coach and their players with is their willingness to commit to the cause. For periods it looked as if their relentlessness would be stifled by the Spanish side as Oblak remained largely untested despite the amount of possession for the hosts - that was until he had to pick the ball out of his own net.

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.

Manchester City 1 Atlético Madrid 0. Kevin De Bruyne, on his 50th Champions League appearance in Manchester City colours, had been muted but made no mistake ...

The ball went from Rodri to Foden and he calmly fed it to De Bruyne who gave Oblak no chance. A thrust and verve had entered the contest. A delightful Koke backflick that released Félix a little later was another warning from the Spanish champions. This was underlined after ceding the ball – a Cancelo cross for Ilkay Gündogan, then a Kevin De Bruyne effort, threatened Jan Oblak’s goal. Through this prism the omission of Phil Foden – who had started five of City’s Champions League eight matches – caught the eye as, to a lesser degree, did Jack Grealish’s exclusion. So, too, De Bruyne who, towards the end, missed a gaping goal much to his manager’s dismay.

The Belgian playmaker fired home from a tight angle after Phil Foden came off the bench to stunning effect in a tense and tight first leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet it was a move that paid off as City began to threaten more. City appealed for another penalty for a push by Reinildo on Sterling as he attempted to latch onto a De Bruyne through ball but referee Istvan Kovacs was not interested. Laporte then went close when he headed over from a corner.

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.

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.

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.

Former Manchester City star Joleon Lescott has claimed that it is inevitable that his former side will claim a Champions League trophy.

Chelsea weren’t the best team in the Champions League last year, but they still won it. I think they are right there, and are really close. “Look at PSG, and all the money that they have invested.

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

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.

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.

Phil Foden delivers priceless cameo as Man City secure slender Champions League advantage, while Liverpool make quarter-final victory at Benfica look ...

In midfield Naby Keita staked a claim for one of the two midfield spots in front of Fabinho in the holding role. Or is Diaz such a machine, he can just go again? Interestingly, Klopp decided to keep Luiz Diaz on for the full 90 minutes. This was a pretty obvious hint that Klopp is planning to unleash both on Sunday in what is being billed as the potential title decider against Manchester City. It was a result achieved without too much sweat or the usual energy expenditure you would associate with the last eight of a European game. He was able to take the ball in a tight area - and there were plenty of them against this Atletico side - before finding the pass that City had been missing.

Manchester City remain confident over new deal for Phil Foden 'sooner rather than ...

City are looking to finalise a number of deals in the coming months, as they are also locked in talks with Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus - all whose contracts expire next year. A source with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to 90min that City are hopeful Foden's deal can be announced 'sooner rather than later'. Foden himself has made it clear he has no intention of leaving the club and City are not worried about securing the deal - especially concerning finances, and they hope a final agreement will be reached in the coming weeks.

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

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.

Phil Foden picked out Kevin De Bruyne who made it 1-0 on the night for Manchester City against Atlético Madrid in their quarter-final first leg.

It is not the time for him to overthink. But, now, came Guardiola’s decisive move: Grealish, Gabriel Jesus and Foden joined the fray and the dividend was reaped. Griezmann’s last act was to be fouled by Silva as Simeone made a triple substitution – Koke and Llorente also departing as Correa, Rodrigo de Paul and Matheus Cunha entered. A delightful Koke backflick that released Félix was another warning from the Spanish champions. After De Bruyne went down in the area with Felipe in close attendance the spot-kick was, again, refused by the referee. This was underlined when, after ceding the ball, a Cancelo cross for Ilkay Gündogan, then a De Bruyne effort, threatened Jan Oblak’s goal.

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.

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.

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. “It is a tough period for Mo and Sadio. Both boys came back from Africa and it is not easy; massive pressure on both shoulders. “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.

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.

John Stones admits a lot rests on Manchester City's clash with title rivals Liverpool on Sunday but does not see it as a decider for the Premier League ...

“There’s obviously that extra buzz about the game and what it means, but it is just another game. Stones said: “As players you want to be in these big games. “I don’t think about it too much like that because you can get carried away.

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.

Liverpool legend John Aldridge has claimed that Mohamed Salah should not start against Man City this Sunday as "he is struggling" at the moment.

“It’s difficult to say from the outside. He has not scored from open play for six weeks and he’s just not himself on the pitch. It’s the biggest game of the season by far.