Atletico Madrid manager Gregorio Manzano heaved a sigh of relief as his the troubled Spanish side qualified for the knockout stages.
Atletico Madrid manager Gregorio Manzano heaved a sigh of relief as his the troubled Spanish side qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League as group winners following a 3-1 home win over French side Rennes Thursday.
Manzano had been under huge pressure following a 2-4 thrashing of Atletico away to Espanyol in the Spanish La Liga last weekend and an embarrassing 1-2 defeat to third tier Albacete in the Copa del Rey a week ago.
Fans have been calling for Manzano to be sacked all week and it had even been speculated that he would be gone before Thursday night's game, which provoked an angry reaction from the manager in his pre-game press conference, Xinhua reported.
However, despite a hostile atmosphere in the Vicente Calderon, where there were insults against the club's directors and calls for former Atletico and Spain coach, Luis Aragones to return as manager, Manzano's side registered an important win, despite an indifferent performance.
Atletico did have an enormous stroke of luck early in the game as Chris Mavinga's header hit the home side's bar on the quarter hour mark and they were also fortunate to be granted a 38th minute penalty after a slight contact on Adrian Lopez, who took the opportunity to go to ground dramatically.
Radamal Falcao made no mistake from the penalty spot and Antonio Dominguez doubled Atletico's lead before the break with a powerful header.
Despite the lead Atletico were booed off the pitch by the fans in the Calderon.
Adra Turan added a third goal 11 minutes from time following a backheel from Adrian, but Rennes pulled a goal back four minutes from time thanks to George Mandjeck's powerful header.
The goal was deserved by the French side, who had the misfortune to come up against an in-form Sergio Asenjo in the Atletico goal, but it served to ignite the ire of the home fans.
Atletico face Real Betis at home on Sunday, it will be another difficult game for Manzano, who remains under pressure despite the win and the qualification for the last 32 of the Europa League.
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