RB Leipzig 2-1 Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid were knocked out of the Champions League quarter finals by underdogs Red Bull Leipzig at the Estadio José Alvalade in Lisbon on Thursday evening, with plenty of the local post-match discussion revolving around João Félix.
Portuguese forward Félix was left out of Diego Simeone’s starting line-up, but emerged in the second half shortly after Atletico went behind. The former Benfica man immediately raised the performance of the Spanish side before winning and scoring a penalty to draw Atleti level, but it would be the German side booking their place in the final four after a late winner.
The decision of whether to start Félix had been covered regularly during the build-up, with the 20-year-old thought to be strongly in contention despite playing just 34 minutes of Atletico’s closing four La Liga matches. However, Simeone opted for Marcos Llorente and Diego Costa up front, with Yannick Carrasco occupying the main creative role in a functional midfield.
Leipzig, playing only their second-ever season in the Champions League, were impressive throughout and despite a goalless first half the Bundesliga side struck early after the re-start. Spaniard Dani Olmo scored against his compatriots with a well-taken header to cap a nice Leipzig move on 50 minutes, giving Simeone a decision to make in order to improve Atleti’s performance.
Félix impact
The Argentina boss did not wait much longer, calling on João Félix to replace former Porto man Hector Herrera on 58 minutes as Los Rojiblancos looked to get back into the game. Within minutes Félix was already finding himself in dangerous positions and after receiving the ball on the turn fed Brazilian full-back Lodi who went down under a challenge from Dayot Upamecano, but was adjudged to have dived and received a caution.
Leipzig had not heeded their own caution, however, and on 69 minutes Félix again burst forward with the ball before playing a one-two with Diego Costa and drawing a penalty for a foul by Lukas Klostermann. Félix stepped up to take the kick and buried his shot wide of goalkeeper Peter Gulasci’s reach to draw Atletico level.
Atletico appeared to have momentum, but Leipzig stunned their more illustrious opponents by snatching an 88th-minute winner. United States youngster Tyler Adams scored with the help of a deflection to take the inexperienced German side into a semi-final match-up with Paris Saint-Germain, leaving Simeone to face questions about his team’s defeat.
“Leipzig won in every area of the game,” Simeone admitted, while some have questioned the decision to leave Félix on the bench, particularly given his impact. Local newspaper AS described the selection as “not understandable” and added the call was “crazy, given it was in Lisbon; the boy’s home” while also adding that “he’s been inconsistent, but nothing justified him not being in the team” for the match at Alvalade.
By Sean Gillen
