Nearly 11 months on from defeat in the final of the Champions League to their arch rivals, Atletico Madrid have a chance to avenge that loss as they face their neighbours in the first leg of their quarter final tie. They were seconds away from what would have been a historic double having already won La Liga, only to concede a goal in the last minute before going down 4-1 at the end of extra time. It would have been a painful one to accept but Diego Simeone will use that to motivate his players and eliminate the current holders. Atletico can take great confidence from their recent record against their more illustrious rivals as they are unbeaten in their last six meetings – winning four of them.
No team has ever won the Champions League in consecutive seasons and nobody would like to be the first more than Real Madrid. To do that, they will need to find a way to get the better of Atletico which has proven difficult for Carlo Ancelotti. Since the Italian arrived at the Bernabeu, he has managed just two wins – in 90 minutes – from 11 games against Simeone’s team. It is a quite remarkable record when you consider the dominance that they had over Atleti for so long. There’s no doubt the pressure on both him and his players will be huge (even by Real Madrid standards), especially as they were on the end of a humbling 4-0 defeat at the Santiago Calderon back at the beginning of February.
Last year’s runners up reached this stage after an extremely nervy success over Bayer Leverkusen on on penalties. Both ties against the Bundesliga team resulted in 1-0 wins for the home team and it was surprising to see Atletico struggle to get the better of a team who have not been all that impressive. They will have to be much better if they are to reach the next stage, although there’s no doubt that the current Spanish champions do have the psychological edge on Real heading into the game.
Real also struggled past German opposition in the previous round. Despite a routine 2-0 win over Schalke in the first leg, they were hanging on in the return match, losing 4-3. It was another indication of their defensive vulnerabilities which have been apparent all too often this term. That being said, they had racked up five straight clean sheets in the Champions League before that match and it’s that form which Ancelotti will hope his team can reproduce on Tuesday evening.
It is without doubt the most anticipated game of the quarter-finals. Even though these clubs have met so often in recent season’s, there is plenty of intrigue and interest surrounding it. Simeone has found a way to combat the counter attacking threat which Real Madrid carry, nullifying their key strength. There is very little between the top three sides in Spain and the importance of scoring the first goal in this game cannot be underestimated. If the home team get it they can play to their own strength of frustrating Real by sitting deep whilst an away goal would mean they have to come out and that would leave the space that Ancelotti’s men crave. No matter the outcome on Tuesday, I think this tie will go all the way to the wire. Neither team will want to go into next week’s second leg behind and I think it will be a cagey draw, possibly 1-1.
Draw 23/10 @ Boylesports
