Two little for Real Madrid’s milestone man Simeone praises Griezmann after victory over Foxes
Ronaldo rues missed chances despite reaching a century of goals in comeback 21 win over Bayern
MADRID: Not even a pair of goals and an away victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League were enough to keep Cristiano Ronaldo happy.
Despite scoring twice in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win to become the first player to reach 100 goals in European club competition, Ronaldo lamented the chances squandered by his team in the first leg of the quarterfinals.
“He was happy, but not too happy because he could have scored third goal, too,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “That is how ambitious he is.”
Ronaldo’s second-half goals allowed him to end a six-game scoring drought in the Champions League, and kept Madrid on track to defend their European title. It also helped end Bayern’s 16-match winning streak at home.
Madrid could have taken an even bigger advantage into next week’s second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium if they hadn’t missed so many chances. The team also had a goal from Sergio Ramos disallowed for offside not long before the final whistle.
Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was key to keeping Wednesday’s game close as the hosts played the final 30 minutes with 10 men following the sending off of Javi Martinez with consecutive yellow cards.
“We did well to earn the comeback,” Ronaldo said. “But we leave with a sour taste because we could have scored more goals. I think if Neuer hadn’t been on such a good night we would have scored more.”
Neuer made two remarkable saves on shots by Ronaldo and Karim Benzema a few minutes apart toward the end of the match in Munich. Ronaldo scored in the 47th and 77th minutes after Bayern had taken the lead in the 25th through Arturo Vidal. The Chilean then missed a penalty late in the first half.
The goals were the 99th and 100th for Ronaldo in European club competition, giving him the milestone nearly seven months after he had scored his last Champions League goal in a 2-2 group-stage draw at Borussia Dortmund. MADRID: Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone believes his side face a “pure night” of football when they take a 1-0 to Leicester City’s King Power for the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.
Antoine Griezmann’s penalty was the only goal on Wednesday as Atletico failed to make the most of their dominance as Leicester failed to have a single shot on goal in 90 minutes.
“We anticipate a fantastic football night. An English stadium, the fans close to the pitch, it will be a pure night of football,” Simeone said of the return leg.
AHEAD OF THE REST Griezmann was by a distance the stand out performer as he also created the penalty as he was brought down right on the edge of the box after a storming run from inside his own half.
The French international had missed his last four Atletico penalties, including in last season’s Champions League final.
However, he dusted himself down to slot home his 24th goal of the season. “He is a fabulous player,” added Simeone.
“He is a complete player, you don’t know what position he
plays because he is all over the pitch. He is still growing, he is playing very well at an important part of the season and has is assuming more responsiblity in the hierarchy of the team.”
POOR REFEERING
Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare claimed his side had been let down by Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson’s decision to award the penalty when Griezmann was upended by Marc Albrighton. “I think we were hard done by,” said Shakespeare.
“I think it is one of the major decisions in the game. It is a definite foul but it is outside the box.”
Leicester have now lost two consecutive games after winning their first six after Shakespeare replaced the sacked Claudio Ranieri. However, he backed the English champions to turn around their narrow deficit having won all four of their home Champions League games this season without even conceding a goal.