THE Madrid derby takes centre stage within the spherical of 16 of the Champions League, with Atletico Madrid in a commanding place to attempt to lastly get the perfect of rival, Actual Madrid, within the European competition.
Madrid, the document 15-time European champion, has been a thorn for Atletico within the Champions League over time, beating the town rival in two finals and eliminating it from the competitors the opposite two instances they confronted off within the knockout rounds.
However this Atletico arrives for Tuesday’s first leg on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium enjoying a few of its greatest soccer since coach Diego Simeone took over extra than a decade in the past, and displaying the arrogance that it might probably tackle the longtime rival head-on.
The spherical of 16 will start this week to cap the inaugural season of a brand new Champions League format that featured a league part and a playoff spherical.
The opposite last-16 matchups will embody the native rivalry of German golf equipment Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, and powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool going towards one another.
Atletico Madrid enters the match towards Madrid in good kind and having fun with certainly one of its greatest seasons below Simeone. The workforce is forward of its rival within the Spanish league standings, and is just one level behind chief Barcelona.
Atletico hasn’t misplaced any of its matches this season towards both Madrid or Barcelona. Within the Spanish league, it beat the Catalan membership 2-1 in Barcelona and drew 1-1 in each video games it performed towards Madrid. Atletico hasn’t misplaced to Madrid in 4 consecutive matches, having eliminated the town rival within the spherical of 16 of the Copa del Rey final season.
“Whenever you select to be a coach, you need to face the strongest opponents, and to compete in each competitors with the intention of successful,” Simeone mentioned forward of the matchup towards Madrid.
Simeone’s workforce completed fifth within the league part of the Champions League, whereas Madrid was solely eleventh and needed to play further playoff video games towards Manchester Metropolis.
The final time Atletico confronted Madrid within the Champions League, they had been eradicated within the semifinals in 2017. It additionally misplaced to Madrid within the ultimate each in 2014 and 2016, and within the 2015 quarterfinals.
Total, Atletico has received solely three of its 10 conferences towards Madrid in UEFA competitions, with 5 losses and two attracts.
Madrid is coming off a loss at Actual Betis within the Spanish league, whereas Atletico received 1-0 towards Athletic Bilbao. —AP
