Man United scores late to salvage draw with Atletico in Champions League round of 16
Benfica comes from behind twice to tie Ajax in other Wednesday matchup
Atletico Madrid kept old foe Cristiano Ronaldo in check but couldn't hold on to its lead against Manchester United, conceding late in a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday.
Joao Felix — once touted as the next Ronaldo — put the hosts ahead with a diving header seven minutes into the match, but substitute Anthony Elanga equalized in the 80th, five minutes after coming off the bench at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Atletico was in control during most of the match and twice hit the crossbar, including with an 86th-minute shot by Antoine Griezmann.
The return leg will be on March 15 in England.
In the other round-of-16 match, Benfica and Ajax drew 2-2 in Portugal.
Felix was much more dangerous for Atletico, constantly threatening with his quick turns and strong runs.
The 21-year-old forward opened the scoring with a powerful header off a well-placed cross by Renan Lodi. The ball came off the post before going in to make Felix the first Portuguese player to score a Champions League goal against United since Ronaldo found the net for Juventus against the English side in November 2018.
It was Felix's seventh Champions League goal in 20 appearances in the competition, and first since 2020.
With the 37-year-old Ronaldo well defended and not being able to connect with his teammates, United seemed beaten until Elanga broke free to find the net from inside the area after a nice through ball from playmaker Bruno Fernandes, the competition's assists leader with seven.
Griezmann, who started on the bench along with Luis Suarez, had the chance to put Atletico ahead again near the end but his shot hit the crossbar. Atletico also was held by the woodwork just before halftime when a close-range header by Sime Vrsaljko bounced onto the crossbar off the face of United defender Victor Lindelof.
Ronaldo, who had scored in all five group-stage matches he played, was visibly frustrated with his team's struggles and also complained to the referees while going into the changing rooms at halftime. His best scoring chance came from a 79th-minute free kick that sailed high.
Anthony Elanga: “I’m always calm. I think that was my first touch as well! I've dreamt of moments like this”, he told BT. 🔴 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MUFC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MUFC</a><br><br>“Whenever I get a chance for the club I want to repay the manager. I want to be the best player I can be on the pitch. I appreciate the boss”. <a href="https://t.co/w5a3c9UROA">pic.twitter.com/w5a3c9UROA</a>
—@FabrizioRomano
He has only one goal in his last nine games in all competitions in what is one of his leanest spells since becoming a scoring machine in the latter part of his first stint with United from 2003-09.
Ronaldo helped end Atletico's Champions League title hopes five different times while playing for Real Madrid and Juventus. He scored hat tricks for Madrid in 2017 and Juventus in 2019, and converted decisive penalty kicks in the finals between the city rivals in 2014 and 2016.
He had 25 goals in 35 career meetings against Atletico, the most against any opponent other than Sevilla.
It was the first meeting between the clubs since the second round of the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup in 1991-92, when Atletico won 4-1 on aggregate.
Benfica battles to draw against Ajax
Benfica came from behind twice to hold Ajax to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 clash Wednesday.
Sebastien Haller scored for both teams in the first half. The prolific Ivory Coast striker now has 11 goals for Ajax in his first seven Champions League matches, the highest tally ever by a debutante in Europe's top club competition.
🇨🇮 Sébastien Haller fastest to 11 goals in competition history (in just 7 games) 🤯<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UCL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UCL</a> <a href="https://t.co/f3c9dPT4VU">pic.twitter.com/f3c9dPT4VU</a>
—@ChampionsLeague
But it was not enough to secure Ajax's seventh straight Champions League victory.
Captain Dusan Tadic put Ajax ahead in the 18th minute, placing a volley past Odisseas Vlachodimos in the Benfica goal after a cross from the right by Noussair Mazraoui, who had started the move by winning the ball on right from Alejandro Grimaldo.
Haller deflected a hard, low cross by former Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen into his own net to bring the scores level in the 26th minute but made amends just three minutes later when he tapped home a rebound to continue his scoring streak.
He could have given Ajax a comfortable two-goal cushion shortly before halftime but only managed to steer the ball wide from close range after Edson Alvarez hit the post.
In the group phase, Haller became the first man to score 10 goals in his first six games in Europe's top-tier competition as Ajax won all of its matches.
But the Amsterdam club struggled in Lisbon as Benfica threatened throughout the second half with its quick breaks.
A deflected shot by Everton went wide in the 55th minute and Darwin Nunez just failed to get on the end of a cross by Rafa Silva five minutes later. It was a rare failure by Nunez, who has scored 23 times across all competitions this season.
The pressure finally paid off when Remko Pasveer saved a powerful shot by Goncalo Ramos and substitute Roman Yaremchuk beat Steven Berghuis to the ball to head home Benfica's second equalizer of the night in the 72nd minute.
Benfica was playing its first Champions League game under Nelson Verissimo, who took over after Jorge Jesus was fired despite leading the Lisbon club into the knockout stage from a group that included Bayern Munich and Barcelona.