Manchester United will end a fifth successive season without a trophy after bowing out of the Champions League at home to Atletico Madrid. Long since out of the Premier League title race, Ralf Rangnick’s Red Devils saw their final route to silverware slammed shut by Diego Simeone’s well-drilled side. <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/manchester-united/" target="_blank">United</a> failed to build on their <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2022/02/24/man-united-player-ratings-vs-atletico-madrid-elanga-8-ronaldo-and-pogba-4/" target="_blank">scarcely-deserved draw</a> in the first leg of this last-16 clash in Spain, with Renan Lodi’s first-half header securing a 1-0 Old Trafford win as Atleti progressed to the quarter-finals. The 2-1 aggregate exit extinguished any faint hopes of a first piece of silverware since the 2017 Europa League as the Premier League side saw a fifth successive continental campaign end in defeat to Spanish opposition. United started well enough at a rocking Old Trafford, where Anthony Elanga would have scored his second of the tie was it not for a fortunate Jan Oblak save on a night that the reigning La Liga champions grew into. Joao Felix scored a bullet header in the first leg and saw a first-half goal ruled out for offside, shortly before Antoine Griezmann hook a cross to the back post for Lodi to head home. It was a gut punch that United failed to respond to as Simeone’s side sat deep, soaked up pressure throughout the second half and frustrated the hosts as much as the officials. United goalkeeper David de Gea said the team were "not good enough" after being eliminated. "We are really disappointed with the result. It's difficult to put into words how we feel now at the moment. We did not do enough in both games to win it. It's a very disappointing day for us," De Gea told BT Sport. "They are a team with a lot of experience. They know how to play those Champions League games. "They scored a goal then are a tough team so it was hard for us to create chances. We are out of one of the most important competitions so we are very sad." United have reached the last eight of Europe's top club competition just twice since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. The club's last trophy came when they won the Europa League five years ago. "Of course it's not good enough. It's hard for the club, for us and the fans. It's really hard," said De Gea. "This is where we are at the moment. It's a difficult situation. We have to keep fighting. I feel very sad. But we were not good enough."
