Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho on Tuesday announced he is unlikely to extend his stay at the club and that he plans to return to Brazil at the end of the season.
Fernandinho made the announcement as Manchester City prepared to travel to Spain and defend a 1-0 lead against Atletico Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final second leg.
Asked if he would be at the club next season, Fernandinho said: “I don't think so. I want to play. I will go back to Brazil. I decided with my family, which is the most important thing for me.”
Apart from Fernandinho's announcement, what is also likely to have a bearing on the match is City's exertions in the season-defining showdown with Liverpool on Sunday. The 2-2 draw at the Etihad left reigning champions City one point ahead of second-placed Liverpool at the top of the table with seven games remaining.
After travelling to Spain for the Champions League quarter-final, City face Liverpool again in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. City's Kyle Walker said he is looking forward to the tough tests ahead.
"These are the games that you want to be involved in," said Walker. "It's exciting."
The task will not get any easier, even though Atletico received a lot of criticism for their game plan in the first leg that was overly defensive and yielded no attempts on goal. Diego Simeone’s side need their attack to click after now going two games without scoring.
Simeone said that his team, who reached Champions League finals in 2014 and 2016, have an identity and will stick with it, despite having to win Wednesday's game to qualify for the semi-finals.
"We're up against a team that plays very well. A very good positional game, but we're hopeful. It's clear that hope alone isn't enough, but we're going to try to take the game where we can hurt them," the Argentine added.
"Words don't say much, the important thing is what happens after the game starts."
Manchester City v Atletico player ratings MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson - 6, Hardly touched the ball but kept his concentration throughout. Was confusingly booked for trying to help Matheus Cunha up.
Reuters
Joao Cancelo - 6, Had the first shot, which was deflected then cleared. Did well to track Joao Felix but had a lapse in concentration that allowed Renan Lodi to steal the ball in a dangerous area. EPA
John Stones - 7, Held Felix up well when he threatened to get behind the City defence and moved the ball nicely. Hit a shot harmlessly over the crossbar. AFP
Aymeric Laporte - 8, Was authoritative and made the tackle to deny Felix after Ilkay Gundogan’s loose pass was intercepted. Came agonisingly close to finding the top corner with a header and was dominant in his own box. AP
Nathan Ake - 8, Showed brilliant awareness in his defending and did well to beat Marcos Llorente to an early ball over the top. Hardly put a foot wrong. EPA
Kevin De Bruyne - 8, Showed plenty of ingenuity and did well to find Gundogan in the box early in the second half. Took his goal brilliantly after being slipped through by Phil Foden, but saw another shot blocked by Stefan Savic then struck over in the latter stages. EPA
Rodri - 6, Some of his passing was sloppy, but the former Atleti midfielder came up with some decisive moments defensively, notably stopping Llorente’s counter attempt. AFP
Ilkay Gundogan - 7, Popped up in some good positions but couldn’t quite find the breakthrough. Hit a shot high and wide but was then unlucky to see his shot deflected wide. EPA
Riyad Mahrez - 7, Showed moments of creativity and delivered some crosses that came agonisingly close to finding a City head. Did well to get a header but couldn’t find the target. Reuters
Bernardo Silva - 7, Made some inventive movements but struggled to impact the game in key areas in the first half, though he was unlucky to be tackled by Koke after getting into Atletico's box. EPA
Raheem Sterling - 7, Made some great bursts forward and was involved most of the times that Atleti looked remotely stretched in the first period. Reuters
SUBS: Jack Grealish (Gundogan, 68’) - 7, Won a free kick within seconds of coming on, which gave a taste of what he was in for as Atleti paid him plenty of attention. The Englishman did well to keep his composure. PA
Gabriel Jesus (Sterling, 68’) - 5, Had some nearly moments, but the decisive one came when he received a silly booking for dissent that means he will miss the second leg. Getty
Phil Foden (Mahrez, 68’) - 8, With his first touches after being introduced, it was the City academy graduate who unlocked Atleti’s defence, slipping the pass through for De Bruyne. In a superb performance, he also danced through the opposition defence to create another chance for De Bruyne. Reuters
ATLETICO MADRID RATINGS: Jan Oblak - 6, His kicking was poor at times. Stopped De Bruyne’s free kick well then kicked it away, but there was nothing he could do for the goal. Reuters
Sime Vrsaljko - 6, Did well to reach Cancelo’s deflected shot, then blocked De Bruyne’s effort. He initially dealt with City’s attacks impressively, but went too far by the end and conceded free kicks, getting booked for a challenge on Grealish.
PA
Stefan Savic - 7, Kept his shape well and ensured that City weren’t able to find an easy route through to goal. Did brilliantly to get across and redirect Gundogan’s shot wide, making another vital block to keep out De Bruyne’s attempt.
Getty
Felipe - 7, Mixed up his defending superbly in the first half, often sitting deep and then stepping out to win back possession. Blocked Rodri’s shot from range. Couldn’t keep up with De Bruyne when the Belgian was slipped through by Foden.
EPA
Reinildo Mandava - 7, Made some brilliant interventions to ensure City didn’t get through in the first half, including a tackle to stop Silva breaking forward and an interception after Mahrez had skipped past Lodi. However, he was nutmegged by Foden for the opener. PA
Renan Lodi - 5, Caught out Cancelo to steal the ball in a dangerous area but couldn’t find Antoine Griezmann. If there was anybody in Atleti’s back five who looked like a weak link defensively it was him. Committed the foul for De Bruyne’s free kick attempt. PA
Marcos Llorente - 5, Helped out defensively but struggled to make any sort of attacking impact, which was partly down to impressive play from Ake. Needlessly strayed offside when a few potential openings arrived. Sent a weak shot straight into Ederson’s arms. AP
Geoffrey Kondogbia - 6, Showed plenty of discipline and awareness in the first half, meaning he was often in the perfect position to help out his defence. Continued to make things difficult in the second period. AP
Koke - 7, Very disciplined and did well to avoid conceding a penalty when tackling Silva in his own box. Also did a good job of breaking up the play. EPA
Joao Felix - 7, Was Atleti’s main outlet and did well to trouble the City defence at all considering how isolated he often found himself. Dropped deeper down the left in the second period and did a good defensive job. PA
Antoine Griezmann - 6, Was largely anonymous in the first half but raced forward for a counter early in the second. Filled in well to help Atleti’s defensive shape. EPA
SUBS: Rodrigo De Paul (Koke, 60’) - 4, Did well to stop De Bruyne breaking forward shortly after coming on. Was booked for a late tackle on Grealish and some his passing was sloppy. EPA
Angel Correa (Griezmann, 60’) - 4, It was easy to forget the Argentine was on the pitch until he was booked for kicking the ball at Grealish’s face when the Englishman was on the floor. Offered very little down the right. AFP
Matheus Cunha (Llorente, 60’) - 5, Made a good run forward before being dispossessed in the corner. Looked frustrated at times that things weren’t happening around him. EPA
Thomas Lemar (Felix, 81’) – N/R, Put in some good work but couldn’t capitalise after Cancelo slipped. AFP
Updated: April 12, 2022, 1:10 PM