The Madrid derby headlines the final fixture slot of this season’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
By Neel Shelat
Atléti out to finish the job they accepted
Of course, no team can ever be entirely satisfied with defeat, but Atlético Madrid seemed to be content enough with keeping a one-goal margin in the scoreline last week. Diego Simeone’s decision to replace Antoine Griezmann with centre-back Robin Le Normand in the 71st minute certainly suggested that, and it was the hosts who came closest to scoring the fourth goal of the match.
Atlético are famed for their defensive resolution and ability to hold on to slender leads, but the flip side of that is that they do not have a lot of experience in overturning first leg deficits. In fact, they have only ever done so once in the UEFA Champions League, though they did manage to win two other such ties on penalties.
Metropolitano a tough venue even for Real Madrid
Since the Metropolitano Stadium opened in 2017, it has proven to be a very tough venue for Real Madrid. Los Blancos have only won twice in their nine visits to the ground and were defeated twice last season, in LaLiga as well as the Copa del Rey. They also suffered disappointment on Atlético’s home turf earlier this term when Ángel Correa scored an equaliser deep into stoppage-time to cap off a very tense match that was also interrupted due to fan disorder.
This will be the first Euroderbi at the Metropolitano, and hopefully it will be a memorable one for sporting reasons.
Real better rested from the weekend
Both of Spain’s premier capital clubs are in for a very busy conclusion to the season as they are in the hunt for all three major trophies. So, player load management will be an especially big factor in the remainder of their campaigns. For this match, it seems Real Madrid might have the upper hand in that respect.
Between their Euroderbi legs, both sides had tough league fixtures last weekend as they faced other regional rivals. Real Madrid managed to come away with a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano while rotating about half of their side, but Atléti suffered a dramatic defeat to Getafe by the same scoreline despite only making a couple of changes to their line-up. Worse yet for them, Clément Lenglet felt an issue in the warm-up and Rodrigo De Paul picked up a knock and went off at half-time.
More moments of individual brilliance in a more open game?
The story of the first leg was of three goals borne out of moments of individual quality. The rest of the game was quite cagey as Atlético particularly looked to keep things tight and Real were cautious of giving away anything cheaply. Simeone’s side will likely have to come out of their shell more in this match, so we could well get a more open encounter that offers the superstar forwards more opportunities to showcase their brilliance.
Prediction
Atlético are unlikely to overcommit, so a tight game should be expected. Real are certainly not short of quality, so they could well do enough to come away with a 1-1 draw.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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