MADRID -- Three points from Atletico Madrid's 1-0 win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday in Group D action in the UEFA Champions League.
1. Simeone gets one over Ancelotti
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone clearly got the better of his Bayern Munich counterpart, Carlo Ancelotti, in a high-quality Champions League clash at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.
Yannick Carrasco's fine first-half strike was the only difference between the two teams on the scoreboard, but on the benches Simeone again showed a clear advantage over Ancelotti, the ex-Real Madrid coach.
During their two years as direct rivals in the Spanish capital, Simeone often had the upper hand in domestic encounters, with "Carletto" famously coming out on top in both of their huge Champions League meetings. Their quarterfinal matchup in the second year was a particularly tight affair, with Real winning 1-0 on aggregate thanks to a goal late in the second leg.
On Wednesday, Bayern showed early on that they had not come just to play pretty football, with Arturo Vidal putting his foot in and Jerome Boateng going into the book for a high tackle on Saul Niguez. But Atletico did not stand down. Simeone's men can play a bit too; Saul was yellow-carded for some revenge on Vidal.
The opening goal came during Atleti's best part of the first half, when they dominated possession and pushed Bayern right back. The quality of Atletico's passing was helped by Koke playing in central midfield, possibly due to injuries to Augusto Fernandez and Tiago, which helped Atleti keep the ball well at times. Carrasco's opening goal came after one such spell of quick passing with a very determined end product.
In general, Atletico looked the better-drilled outfit both with and without the ball. Had Fernando Torres brought his shooting boots, they could have been two or three up at the break.
In the second half, Simeone was still on top in the tactical battle. Ancelotti used his three substitutions by the 65th minute, but the pattern of the game remained the same. It should have been 2-0 when Atletico got a late penalty kick, but Antoine Griezmann fired his effort off the crossbar.
To the end, Simeone was off his feet, pointing and screaming at his players and keeping them on their toes. Ancelotti mostly stood in his technical area with his arms folded, as if unable to affect what was going on in front of him.
2. Torres misses while Carrasco pings home
This was just Fernando Torres' second start of 2016-17, but Simeone suggested firmly pregame that this was just the type of match the veteran could thrive in.
Torres was definitely involved early on, robbing dawdling marker Javi Martinez, but lacked the pace to run clear on goal. As Atletico upped the pressure midway through the first half, Torres had a much easier chance, but somehow headed off the post from 3 yards after being left completely unmarked at a corner.
Then, Koke's super pass found Torres free in the box, but the ex-Liverpool and ex-Chelsea man slipped while shooting and the ball flew wide. It was getting embarrassing at this point, and the Calderon fans started to sing "Fernando Torres, Fernando Torres'" to keep their idol's chin up.
Almost before that song had died down, Carrasco showed how it is done. The Belgium international had previously had a great shot saved by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, but this time Carrasco gave Neuer no chance. After some sharp link-up play with Griezmann, Carrasco shot early from 20 yards, pinging a left-footed shot in off the right-hand post from the edge of the box, his first goal since last year's Champions League final.
After the break, with Atletico ahead, there were fewer home chances. Torres did have one to make the game safe, but another heavy touch let him down. Simeone first withdrew goal scorer Carrasco, however, with Torres lasting until 78 minutes and working his socks off in the process. The Calderon stood to clap their hero off the pitch when he was replaced with his job well-done.
3. Bayern lack cutting edge
Unlike when Pep Guardiola came to the Calderon with Bayern last season, Ancelotti's team played a pretty conventional 4-3-3 shape, with there being nothing "false" about their full-backs' positioning. As expected, the visitors had a lot of the ball, with Thiago in particular moving it around nicely during the early stages.
Thiago's chipped pass to Thomas Muller provided Bayern's only real early chance, which keeper Jan Oblak saved well. Often, though, all 11 of Atletico's players were in or around their own box, with Bayern pinning them back completely, unable to find a hole in the wall.
Bayern centre-forward Robert Lewandowski has scored 10 goals in his last eight games for club and country, but he was almost completely bottled up as Atleti's Diego Godin made his latest claim to being the best centre-half in world football. Lewandowski did set up Bayern's best chance to equalise before half-time, but Franck Ribery could not take advantage of the lay-off and shot into the side netting from 8 yards.
Bayern again dominated possession after half-time, but were playing mostly in front of Atletico, who were always looking to break. Muller and Alaba had half-chances, but the home defence looked mostly comfortable. One long spell of possession at around the 75-minute mark was indicative, but it ended with a Xabi Alonso long ball floating out of play. Arjen Robben's corner straight to fellow substitute Kevin Gameiro was also a low point for the visitors.
When a chance did come out of nothing, Lewandowski glanced his free header wide from 8 yards. Ancelotti's Real Madrid side did not score in any of his last four trips to the Calderon as Blancos coach. By the end here, they were pumping long balls into the box in blind hope. They dominated possession, but never really threatened to find the net.