Manchester City were made to work hard to earn a slender 1-0 win in their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Atletico Madrid.

Both teams had never met before in the continental competition prior, although the head coaches and plenty of the players will be familiar with each other.

City defeated Sporting in the last round to book a clash with Atletico, who knocked out their opposition's local rivals Manchester United, and the Spanish champions were resolute in their defensive setup throughout in a frustrating evening at the Etihad.

Pep Guardiola recalled John Stones in a back four that saw Nathan Ake at left-back, while Phil Foden was benched in place of Ilkay Gundogan. Much of the build-up centred around the contrasting styles between Guardiola and Atletico boss Diego Simeone, but the City manager says this tie is about the players.

Atletico were stubborn from the start, restricting City to few openings and frustrating the Blues who dominated throughout without getting a clear sight of goal. That was until Phil Foden's introduction on 70 minutes, with his first touch being to free Kevin De Bruyne to finish past Jan Oblak.

Kevin De Bruyne was the difference between the two sides. City had 67 percent possession over the game and were completely dominant for the 90 minutes, but troubled Simeone's men on just a few occasions. Atletico will be happy with the result With the second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano to come.

The goal was enough to give City a 1-0 lead heading into the second leg next week.