Manchester City’s ill-tempered goalless draw away to Atletico Madrid was enough to secure a hard-fought 1-0 aggregate victory in their Champions League quarter-final.
Leading from the first leg thanks to Kevin De Bruyne’s goal, Man City retained their advantage in front of a boisterous Wanda Metropolitano crowd to progress to the last four.
There were nervy moments late on as Atletico pushed hard for the goal despite Felipe’s red card in stoppage time for a second bookable offence.
Ederson was forced into a 102nd minute save from substitute Angel Correa to ensure it is Man City who will play Real Madrid in the semi-final.
Atletico had been criticised for their shot-shy performance in Manchester but there was more intent from the outset in Madrid, showcasing their trademark aggressive approach.
The supporters booed Pep Guardiola’s name and jeered the taking of a knee. When the game kicked off, Felipe’s brutal challenge on Phil Foden drew blood from his head.
Foden played on with a bandage and City tried to play their football despite the hostility, almost finding the breakthrough goal when Ilkay Gundogan struck the foot of the post.
Diego Simeone made one change to the Atletico Madrid that lost the first leg but it was an attacking one. Thomas Lemar came into the side for full-back Sime Vrsaljko, with Marcos Llorente dropping back.
Pep Guardiola made two changes to the Manchester City team that drew with Liverpool as Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling make way for Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez. There was a place on the bench for Ruben Dias.
But Diego Simeone’s side redoubled their efforts after the interval, pushing more players forward and raising the tempo, with Antoine Griezmann firing just wide of the post.
Injuries to De Bruyne and Kyle Walker added to the sense of jeopardy as Simeone’s triple substitution midway through the second half heaped pressure on the away side.
But when Felipe was finally sent off for another foul on Foden, the job seemed to be done against their increasingly desperate hosts. Stefan Savic somehow stayed on the pitch despite an apparent headbutt on Raheem Sterling and then pull on Jack Grealish’s hair as tempers flared while Foden lay injured.
And yet, it still required a save from Ederson with all but the last kick of the game to deny Correa. Manchester City were through. Just.
Stones: We kept our tempers
“We know they sometimes try to make things happen like that,” said John Stones of the stoppage-time melee that culminated in Felipe’s red card, when speaking to BT Sport.
“I thought we dealt with it really well. I don’t want to dwell on it too much because over two legs I thought we played incredibly against such an experienced team.
“I am so proud of the lads today, how we kept our control, kept our tempers. It is so easy to get drawn into stuff like that. I am so happy to be through. A great night.”
Guardiola: We deserve it but we are in trouble
“In the second half, they were better than us and we were lucky we did not concede,” Guardiola told BT Sport. “In the first half, we had our chances. Overall, we are in the semi-finals. It is well deserved.”
The City coach refused to be drawn on Atletico’s antics but he did note the injuries to De Bruyne and Walker that present them with a problem as they continue to compete for the Premier League title and the FA Cup.
“We are in big trouble. We cannot forget we played three days ago in a tough game against Liverpool. We have to come here and we have a lot of injuries right now.
“I am not sure what is going to happen in the next weeks but today we are going to celebrate because it is the third time in Manchester City’s history that we are in the semi-finals of the Champions League.”
