Atletico Madrid 1-0 Bayern Munich: Saul Niguez strike hands the advantage to the hosts in Champions League semi-final first leg
- Saul Niguez opened the scoring for Atletico Madrid after 11 minutes of their Champions League semi-final first leg
- Thomas Muller was left on the bench for Bayern Munich and they struggled to create chances without him
- David Alaba rattled the crossbar early in the second half as the visitors pushed back in search of an away goal
- Fernando Torres hit the post with 15 minutes left at the end of a fantastic move before Koke's follow-up was saved
Ryan Giggs, Ricky Villa, hell, even Diego Maradona — there is something very special about a dribbled goal.
It is one of the last displays of pure individualism in a game that is increasingly dominated by percentages, team work, transitions and statistical analysis. It contains elements of showmanship, ego, self — all personality traits that must now be sacrificed to the whole.
So when Saul Niguez took out close to half of the Bayern Munich team on his way to winning this Champions League semi-final first leg, it was a moment to take the roof off Atletico Madrid's mighty stadium, if the dear old Vicente Calderon had one, on three of its four sides.
Saul scored arguably the goal of the tournament on 11 minutes here, and Bayern Munich could not recover. As a result, Pep Guardiola now has 90 minutes to avoid being something he has never been in his life: a nearly man.
This is his third Champions League campaign with Bayern Munich and the first two have ended at the semi-final stage. Now he must turn around a 1-0 deficit against one of the most cussed, yet gifted, teams in Europe if he is to progress to the final in Milan.
It will not be easy. Atletico are incredibly resilient, yet Saul's goal showed they are capable of exquisite excellence, too. It would have deserved to win any match, but this was a fitting occasion.
Before the game, Saul had declared Munich the best team left in the competition. With Atletico's city rivals Real Madrid also among the last four, he may just have been pleasing the faithful, but if he was earnest, maybe it was admiration that inspired such a wondrous solo effort.
It came after Saul had already tried his range from 30 yards just four minutes in, an ambitious attempt that was easily snaffled by Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
His next try, though, was markedly different — a thing of beauty that lifted the locals to new levels of joy and abandon.
They have waited 42 years for their revenge on Munich, victors when the clubs met in the 1974 European Cup final. Atletico were seconds from winning that night, until Munich equalised and then won the replay — remember them — 4-0. Nobody would say Saul's goal made up for that; but it went a fair way.
It would almost be easier to name the Munich players he did not skip past or outwit on his way towards the penalty area. But the list of the vanquished begins with Guardiola's favourite Thiago Alcantara, continues through a slalom move that defeated Juan Bernat and Xabi Alonso, before ending with the surge that took him past David Alaba, before defeating Neuer with the shot.
Not every challenge was of the required standard for a Champions League semi-final, mind you, but the route still took some negotiating and Saul's balance and intent were quite perfect. So was his finish, a low curler that eluded Neuer, settling in at the far post.
MATCH FACTS
Atletico Madrid (4-4-2): Oblak 7; Juanfran 7, Gimenez 7, Savic 7, Luis 6.5; Saul 8 (Teye 85mins), Gabi 7.5, Fernandez 7, Koke 6.5; Griezmann 6.5, Torres 7.
Unused subs: Correa, Gamez, Hernandez, Kranevitter, Moya, Vietto.
Booked: Saul.
Goal: Saul 11.
Manager: Diego Simeone 8.
Bayern Munich (4-1-4-1): Neuer 6; Lahm 6, Martinez 6, Alaba 5.5, Bernat 5.5 (Benatia 77); Alonso 6; Costa 6.5, Alcantara 5 (Muller 70, 6), Vidal 6.5, Coman 6 (Ribery 64, 6); Lewandowski 6.
Unused subs: Gotze, Kimmich, Tasci, Ulreich.
Booked: Costa, Benatia, Neuer.
Manager: Pep Guardiola 6.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg 7.
Player ratings by Kieran Gill
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