After a night of high emotion at the Metropolitano, Thibaut Courtois was strangely understated when summing up the early goal that his Real Madrid side had conceded to neighbours Atleti. "We didn't start well," said the Real Madrid goalkeeper, which is certainly one way of describing conceding 28 seconds into a big derby match, though – yet again – a sizeable setback proved no bar to the reigning champions making their way through.
FedEx Performance Zone
The following analysis, brought to you by FedEx, will look at how Atleti asked some difficult questions of Madrid, notably in the first half of Wednesday's Champions League round of 16 second-leg contest, but also how Carlo Ancelotti's team came through in the end.
Atleti's direct threat brings early impetus
In the Zone: Atleti's fast start
The video above starts with Conor Gallagher's opening goal, the Englishman's first in the Champions League. As is shown, the lead-up begins with a ball from deep by Clément Lenglet. Madrid centre-back Raúl Asencio gets to it but knocks it to a red-and-white shirt. With the loose ball, Atleti commit numbers forward and Rodrigo De Paul's cross is helped on by Giuliano Simeone for Gallagher to slide in and score.
For Courtois, Madrid should have allowed Lenglet's ball to run through but "we didn't let the ball pass, they regained it, they crossed and scored".
In the Zone: Atleti's direct threat
Playing with impressive intensity and energy, Atleti threatened a second goal too – in the first half at least – and the second video shows one such threat, again from picking up a second ball, as Antonio Rüdiger's headed clearance is collected by Julián Alvarez who drives into the box and tests Courtois with an angled shot.
Control quest limits clear opportunities
The view of Madrid coach Ancelotti was that Atleti's main threat came when "they tried to catch us out of position on quick transitions". Yet that was easier said than done. After a first-half xG of 0.92, Atleti's xG for the rest of the match fell to 0.54.
UEFA Technical Observer Rafa Benítez explained: "They scored the early goal and then had to defend; and then, because they didn’t have too much space on the counter, they found a way that was with a couple of longer balls and second balls. The other way was set pieces."
The match as it happened
Ancelotti – echoing his words about the game plan from the first leg – admitted that the visitors had played with a measure of caution, which led to that lack of space of which Benítez speaks. "The priority was not to complicate the game with complicated moves and lose the ball unnecessarily; then they can catch you out of position and can score a second goal," he said in the post-match press conference. "That's why we didn't create many chances. The second half was a bit better."
That said, the holders ended the 120 minutes with only three shots on target and Diego Simeone remarked that "[Madrid] controlled the possession without [making] chances".
All of which chimes with the analysis of the first leg carried out by the UEFA performance analysis unit, which asserted that control was a prominent part of the game plan for both coaches.
Another shoot-out success
According to Benítez, watching from the stands of the Metropolitano, this pursuit of control meant that "Madrid didn't play with a high tempo and were not often a threat running in behind".
And yet, as has so often been the case down the years in this competition, they still found a way to prevail. Madrid had won their five previous ties with Atleti in this competition, the 2014 and 2016 finals included (the latter on spot kicks), and as the penalty shoot-out unfolded late on Wednesday night, a familiar feeling took hold. By the narrowest of margins, Madrid had done it again.
Highlights: Atleti 1-0 Real Madrid (2-4 pens)