Atletico Madrid vs Bayern Munich 1-0 All Goals & Extended Highlights Champions League 2016 - VIDEO
It's advantage Atletico Madrid after they edged out Bayern Munich 1-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday.
Saul Niguez's sublime solo effort saw the hosts take a deserved early lead in an excellent first half for the hosts, and while Bayern were mostly the better side in the second half, they were unable to break down manager Diego Simeone's side who put in a typically resilient performance.
Bayern manager Pep Guardiola opted to deploy Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman in an attempt to force the organised hosts out wide, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:
The home side got off to the brighter start, though, as they pinned Bayern back in their own half from the outset, with Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres having early efforts on goal before Saul fired Atletico into the lead in the 11th minute.
The Spaniard seemed to be going nowhere in midfield but suddenly charged at goal, ghosting his way expertly past three players before curling home into the bottom corner, via BT Sport Football:
As DW Sports' Stefan Bienkowski noted, it was no less than Los Rojiblancos deserved after overwhelming their opponents in the early stages with their typically relentless pressing:
Bayern almost hit back immediately, but Jose Gimenez was on hand to clear Arturo Vidal's header off the line.
The Bavarians slowly began to exert more control over proceedings but struggled to create any clear-cut chances. Their most promising effort came from Coman on the right, but he could only send the ball straight to 'keeper Jan Oblak.
Meanwhile, Atletico continued to threaten as Griezmann latched on to a long ball over the top before forcing a save from Manuel Neuer while under pressure from Javi Martinez.
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Corrigan sang their praises at the break:
Bayern's first real chance of the game came out of nowhere. Shortly after the restart, David Alaba picked up the ball in midfield and unleashed a wicked strike on goal only to see it bounce down off the crossbar and away to safety.
The visitors followed that up with a header on goal from Martinez following a corner, but Oblak dealt with the effort well.
Indeed, their start to the second half was much better than the first, with the Spanish outfit the side to be forced back. Bayern fired further warnings when Costa lifted his volleyed effort over both Oblak and the bar before the stopper palmed away Vidal's powerful effort from distance.
Atleti almost hit them on the counter-attack, though, as Torres directed an effort on to the post before Neuer snatched Koke's follow-up out of the air.
Francisco Seco/Associated Press
Bayern toiled away in the later stages amid a flurry of bookings for both sides, but late strikes from Medhi Benatia and Vidal were straight at Oblak, who saved comfortably.
With just a single goal in it, the match is poised for an equally intriguing second leg on Tuesday and one in which the rock-solid Atletico will fancy their chances, particularly if they can grab an away goal.
It's impossible to rule out Bayern, though, who will feel equally confident in their ability to score one or more at the Allianz Arena.
Post-Match Reaction
Guardiola reflected on the match and was happier with the performance than the result, per the Bayern Twitter account: "Seventy-five percent of our performance was great. We created more than enough chances. The result isn't good. It makes the return leg complicated."
The Spaniard and Neuer also gave their take on Saul's magnificent goal, per the Champions League and Bayern:
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