It took the entry into play, in the second half, of Phil Foden, the wall piercer par excellence, for Pep Guardiola's men to find the opening.

Less than 90 seconds after replacing Riyad Mahrez, Foden received the ball 25 yards from the opposition goal and made a nice angled control to face the goal.

He then advanced a little, attracting four opponents to him, and perfectly balanced his pass for Kevin de Bruyne, who left behind the defense, who beat Jan Oblak with a superb cross shot (1-0, 70th).

A release for the Mancunians who had practically failed to get rid of the trap woven by Diego Simeone.

Especially since Guardiola had decided to do without, at kick-off, players who were very comfortable in small perimeters like Foden or Jack Grealish, who also came into play twenty minutes from the end.

The first half was insipid, with City lacking the movement and speed to create any danger, while the Rojiblancos didn't even seem very interested in countering to win the ball back.

At times, City even played in 1-4-5, only Aymeric Laporte remaining off the hook.

But with such a traffic jam of players in the last meters and especially a big waste on set pieces, which are an important weapon against such a united defense, Atlético had a quiet first period.

In the second half, Guardiola's message at the break seemed to have been well received by his players.

They accelerated the circulation of the ball and took better advantage of set phases.

Kevin De Bruyne adjusts Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak to give Manchester City the advantage at home in C1, April 5, 2022 Oli SCARFF AFP

A free kick for de Bruyne 20 meters away, in the middle, well cleared in two stages by Oblak (55th), a header from Laporte at the far post from a corner (64th) sent the first shivers down the backs of the supporters , before the fairly logical opening of the score.

Faced with the Spaniards using, as usual, expedients to slow down the game and run the clock, City was again dangerous on an infiltration by Foden and a strike by de Bruyne, in the box, countered by Stefan Savic (80th).

This minimalist advantage will nevertheless force Atlético to seek a result in the return match, in eight days, at the Wanda Metropolitano.

© 2022 AFP