Methodical Man City nail Atletico tactics to leave Diego Simeone searching for inspiration

It's fair to say that the first half of Manchester City's Champions League quarter-final victory against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday evening was not the greatest of spectacles.

The opening 45 minutes panned out as many had expected, a game of attack vs defence that failed to excite even the most enthusiastic of City supporter. City had virtually all of the ball while Atletico barely moved beyond the edge of their own penalty area, but Pep Guardiola's side could not find a way through.

Of course, we've seen that 45 minutes plenty of times before. City come up against deep and compact defences all the time, and it's just a case of patiently building attacks and waiting for the right opening to appear, without over-committing and leaving themselves vulnerable to counter-attacks.

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But as the players walked off at half-time there were murmurs among some at the Etihad Stadium that the City players should have been doing more, that they were passing too slowly or not being adventurous enough. In reality though, City did everything they could to break down their Spanish opponents, and under the circumstances played very well.

"During [the opening] 25/30 minutes they played 5-5, so it's so difficult to find spaces," Guardiola said after the 1-0 win, secured by a second half strike from Kevin de Bruyne. "We were patient enough, except the first five or ten minutes of the second half. We attacked not at the right rhythm."

Rhythm is a word Guardiola uses a lot, and when coming up against the most organised defensive unit in Europe, it is something that is incredibly important. Attacks must be built methodically, at the right moment and