Citizens show their resilience to progress past Atletico Madrid

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On Wednesday night, Manchester City faced a test of not only their quality but their resilience and character as they travelled to the Wanda Metropolitano to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final second leg.

The Citizens emerged with a hard-fought 0-0 draw to progress to the semi-finals 1-0 on aggregate.

As expected from a Diego Simeone team, they fought for every ball and argued with the officials over every decision.

At times Atletico went too far, including a ridiculous incident near the end of the game where home centre-back Stefan Savic lost his head and was lucky to stay on the pitch.

The former-City defender clashed with Citizen’s midfielder Phil Foden and caused a mass scuffle that involved a host of players from both teams. The incident started when Atletico Madrid defender Felipe flawed Foden with a kick out.

The defender was already on a yellow card and arguably should have seen red earlier in the game. He did eventually get a second yellow card, much to his annoyance.

City was unable to control the game like they would have wanted in the second half. The home team came more into the game as an attacking force and missed some excellent chances.

However, City should be praised for showing a side of their team that we don’t often see, which is their mental strength.

They are famous for their expansive attacking football. However, the truly top teams can handle games when the going gets tough and the opposition team attempts to frustrate and distract them from playing football.

City dug in well in a powder keg of an atmosphere in the Wanda Metropolitano and were rewarded with a place in the Champions League semi-final.

The Citizens will return to the Spanish capital to face Atletico’s arch-rivals Real Madrid in the last four of the competition.

The tie with Carlo Ancelotti's team will be a far different challenge than the one offered by Los Rojiblancos. Only time will tell if City can overcome Los Blancos and make it to the Champions League final for a second straight season.