On Wednesday, the second UEFA Champions League semifinal took place in the Spanish capital. The first goal of this season's semifinals was finally scored at the "Vicente Calderon" stadium.
Diego Simeone's Madrid "Atletico", who eliminated the champions from the tournament in the quarterfinals, showed their mastery against the Munich "Bayern" team. Despite dominating the ball for much of the match, the Bavarian team could not avoid defeat - Saul Niguez spoke at home as "Atletico" celebrated a narrow victory in the first match.
The match began with active football. Neither team hesitated to attack and create opportunities from the very first minutes.
The first goal did not take long to arrive - in the 11th minute, the young "Rojiblancos" forward Saul Niguez excellently played individually and put the hosts ahead. After conceding the goal, "Bayern" did not lose their composure and started to dominate possession.
During the remaining time of the first half, the Bavarians created several dangerous chances near the hosts' goal, but every attack was responded to by "Atletico" defenders or Jan Oblak.
The second half saw even more intense action. In the 54th minute, a potential equalizer was fired by "Bayern" defender David Alaba, but his long and powerful shot missed the target - hitting the crossbar. Just two minutes later, another danger arose near the hosts' goal, but Oblak reacted to Javi Martinez's header.
In the 74th minute, Arturo Vidal unleashed a real "bomb" from the right side, but once again the opponents' goalkeeper was unbeatable. "Atletico" quickly counterattacked after this shot and could have sealed the game with Fernando Torres, but the Spaniard hit the post.
Throughout the remaining time, "Bayern" pressed their opponents, but the steel defense of D. Simeone's proteges was impenetrable. The 2014 Champions League finalists celebrated victory after S. Niguez's goal.
The return leg between "Bayern" and "Atletico" in Germany will take place next Tuesday.
Result:
"Atletico" 1 - 0 "Bayern"
11' [1 - 0] S. Niguez
Starting lineups:
"Atletico": Oblak; Juanfran, Giménez, Savić, Filipe Luís; Gabi, Fernández, Saúl, Koke; Griezmann, Torres.
Substitutes: Moya, Jesus Gamez, Lucas, Oliver, Thomas, Correa, Vietto.
"Bayern": Neuer; Lahm, Martinez, Alaba, Bernat; Alonso; Costa, Vidal, Thiago, Coman; Lewandowski.
Substitutes: Ulreich, Kimmich, Tasci, Benatia, Ribery, Muller, Gotze.
