The coup of the former Racing and his dialogue with CR7 following the sanction
Atletico Madrid struck at Old Trafford: defeated 1-0 Manchester United and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. the goal was scored by the Brazilian Renán Lodi, following a play that began with a long pass from Rodrigo de Paulone of the great figures of the meeting.
The 27-year-old former Racing and Udinese midfielder was the second footballer on the field who touched the most balls (59, only behind the Mexican Herrera), recovered five balls, and had 82% accuracy in passes. In addition, he was the one who executed the most shots on goal of his team (two, one of them led to a great save by De Gea) and the one who completed the most passes in the last third of the pitch (7).
The champion of the last Copa América with the Argentine national team starred in a particular duel with Cristiano Ronaldo. At the end of the first half, De Paul committed an infraction once morest the Portuguese next to the side. The striker jumped as if the foul had been violent, although it didn’t seem like it.
The referee immediately showed him the yellow card, but even before protesting, the midfielder started chasing following CR7, making hand gestures, as if signaling that he exaggerated. The former Real Madrid and Juventus legend dodged him and started running, but De Paul did not abdicate, always with a wry smile. “I didn’t touch you, I didn’t touch you, don’t cry”he told her, repeatedly.
However, the sanction was already decreed. In the end, it was the Argentine who celebrated, while Cristiano, 37, suffered the same fate as other stars such as Lionel Messi or Neymar, who also fell by the wayside in the round of 16 of the most prestigious club-level competition in Europe.
The video with the kick and Rodrigo’s reaction became viral, fueled by the fans of the National Team, who remembered the midfielder’s friendship with Lionel Messi, CR7’s antagonist for the last 15 years.
After the fall, Ronaldo left for the changing rooms in silence, shaking his head in disbelief.: He had bet a lot on his return to United, to fight for the Champions League once more, something that did not happen.
“It was a very stable game, very regular. We must absolutely highlight the collective work. It was fantastic. For the club to be among the top eight is fantastic. Talking regarding a single player would not be good because it was a general effort. The team knew what they had to do when the ball was recovered. They are a team with many individualities. They are very good, but very messy to generate good pressure at the start. The team achieved it and suffered what must be suffered once morest Manchester United in the Champions League round of 16”, Cholo Simeone analyzed what happened.
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