Press Trust of India
Madrid, April 28: A breathtaking individual goal from Saul Niguez put Atletico Madrid in the box seat in their Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich with a 1-0 victory in a tense first leg at the Vicente Calderon here Wednesday.
The midfielder magically weaved his way through the Bayern defence and produced a low finish that went in off the post to put the home side in front after 11 minutes.
Diego Simeone’s superbly-drilled outfit then snuffed out Bayern’s threat and even came close to doubling their lead late on when Fernando Torres’s shot struck the post.
“It was a great game, everyone believed in their work. We put in a huge effort,” said Simeone, whose Atletico have frequently been a scourge of more-fancied opponents with their disciplined rearguard frustrating Barcelona in the last round.
While Bayern’s David Alaba also hit the woodwork with a thumping drive, the result left Pep Guardiola’s side facing a huge task in next week’s return leg in Munich to avoid a third successive semifinal exit.
“I’m not happy with how we played,” said Guardiola. “We started badly. The goal was a consequence of our slow play. We didn’t win even one battle.”
Atletico made an intense start in the first competitive meeting between the two sides since Bayern beat the Spaniards 4-0 in the 1974 European Cup final replay.
Saul drove them in front with a sensational run from the right, snaking inside and beating three players before fending off two more and bending the ball in off the far post with a flick of his left boot.
Bayern nearly equalised moments later when Arturo Vidal’s looping header beat Atletico keeper Jan Oblak, but Jose Gimenez rose to head the ball off the line.
Simeone’s side might have added another before the break when Antoine Griezmann bore down on goal before the Frenchman’s near-post shot was kicked away by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer.
Bayern were more incisive in the second half. Alaba smashed the underside of the crossbar from 30 metres, and then Javi Martinez escaped his marker at a corner but could only glance the ball into the hands of Oblak.
Atletico soon regained control though. They almost doubled their lead with their only real chance of the second half. Torres stormed into the box, took on a defender and tried to hook the ball into the far corner, hitting the post before Koke’s effort on the rebound was caught by Neuer.
