Wycombe or Fulham, more ‘brave’ than Atlético at the Etihad

Since he jumped onto the pitch and the referee indicated the start of the match, Atlético de Madrid had it very clear. Playing one-on-one against Manchester City, at home, could mean that the remaining 90 minutes of regulation for the Wanda Metropolitano would become a mere formality for Pep Guardiola’s team. Two very close lines of five players ahead of Jan Oblak and counterattacks as the main, and almost only, offensive resource to hurt an advanced defense Citizen It was what the mattress group proposed in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. And Cholo Simeone was about to get away with it to get a positive result from the Etihad Stadium, if it weren’t for Phil Foden jumping onto the pitch to revolutionize the game and assist Kevin De Bruyne in the final 1-0.

However, the extremely defensive approach of the rojiblancos was not the most striking aspect of the visitors’ meeting, and that is Atlético de Madrid finished the game, according to the statistics of SofaScore and the UEFAwith a total of zero shots in favor, whether on goal or outside. A fact that, taking into account all the competitions played by the team Skybluehad not been seen at the Etihad Stadium so far this season.

The one from Cholo Simeone became the first of the 21 teams that have played this season in the Manchester City stadium that has failed to record any shots against the Citizens during the 90 minutes. Since Norwich City visited the Etihad Stadium on matchday 2 of the Premier League, and until the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 match between Manchester City and Sporting Lisbon held at the home Citizenall teams (Norwich City, Arsenal, RB Leipzig, Southampton, Wycombe Wanderers, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Bruges, Everton, Paris Saint-Germain, West Ham, Wolverhampton, Leeds United, Leicester City, Chelsea, Fulham, Brentford, Tottenham , Manchester United and Sporting Lisbon) had managed to record at least one shot. And only two (Norwich City and Arsenal) of the 20 teams did not shoot on goal.

Wycombe and Fulham’s unrewarded ‘bravery’

Although all these teams caused more “problems” for Manchester City at home than Atlético de Madrid, very few were those who left the Etihad Stadium with a positive result. Southampton and Sporting de Lisboa, with two goalless draws, as well as Crystal Palace and Tottenham, who beat Pep Guardiola’s men 0-2 and 2-3 respectively, have been the only teams capable, so far this season, of beating the Premier League leader in front of their fans. The rest were defeated and even beaten.

Of these 20 teams, only Wolverhampton and Chelsea obtained the same result as Atlético de Madrid: 1-0. Likewise, both Wolves What Blues they registered more shots than the rojiblancos. While Bruno Lage’s team shot twice, once between the 3 posts, the London team shot on goal once, 4 in total.

It is worth highlighting the “feat” of teams such as Wycombe Wanderers, currently in League One (English Third Division) or Fulham, from the Championship, who despite ending up kneeling against the almighty Manchester City they did manage to shoot, and even pierce the goal Citizenin their respective Carabao Cup (6-1) and FA Cup (4-1) matches, played at the Etihad Stadium. In the case of Wycombe, Gareth Ainsworth’s men have the second highest number of shots against Pep Guardiola’s team at home so far this season, with 12 shots in total. Leicester City, with 14 shots, 8 of them on goal, is the team that shot the most times against the goal defended by Ederson. The podium is completed by Ralph Hasenhüttl’s Southampton, who in addition to shooting 10 times (2 on goal), took 1 point from their visit to the Etihad Stadium.