Atlético Madrid want to knock city rivals Real Madrid out of the Champions League for the first time in their history on Wednesday. The underdog has good arguments.
12.03.2025, 05:00
12.03.2025, 07:08
SDA
Atlético Madrid failed their dress rehearsal for the round of 16 second leg at the weekend, despite coach Diego Simeone fielding his best team. The team led by record goalscorer Antoine Griezmann conceded both goals in the last five minutes of the 2-1 defeat against Getafe and are now only third in the table - one point behind Real Madrid.
Time and again, the rich and powerful rival from their own city has been outshone by the somewhat less glamorous outsider Atlético Madrid. Nevertheless, Atleti have won eleven league titles, two of which came in the coaching era of Simeone, who has been in charge of the club so successfully since 2011. But in the Champions League, the 15-time winners Real Madrid have reached the final five times: twice in the final (2014 and 2016), twice in the semi-finals (1959 and 2019) and in the quarter-finals in 2015. This is another reason why Atlético's international successes are limited to the other, second-tier European Cups.
After the 2-1 defeat in the first leg, Simeone is in a positive mood despite the burden of the past. He felt that his team were superior in the first leg and had Real well under control for most of the time. The Argentine also recalled last season's round of 16, when Atletico overcame a 1-0 deficit at home to Inter Milan to progress to the next round on penalties.
Atletico's impressive home record
70,000 spectators at the Metropolitano will be cheering them on and believing in an exploit. Since Simeone has been coach, Atlético have not lost any of their 17 knockout round games at home, with 11 wins and six draws - the defeated teams include Leverkusen, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus Turin, Inter Milan, Dortmund and Liverpool.
In 2017, the 2-1 home win came to nothing as Real Madrid won the home game 3-0 thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick. This time, Atlético kept the damage to a minimum at the Santiago Bernabeu. Moreover, the big neighbor is not irresistible. In the championship, they have recently been unable to keep pace with leaders Barcelona. The front three of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappé has shone from time to time, but is not very consistent in its performances.
Kobel and Jashari in action
In addition to the Madrid derby, three other round of 16 matches are on the program on Wednesday. Arsenal against PSV Eindhoven has already been decided after the English side's 7:1 win in the first leg. The two Swiss players, Gregor Kobel with Dortmund against Lille and Ardon Jashari with FC Brugge at Aston Villa, still have a chance of progressing, albeit from an underdog position. The handicap from the home game (1:3) speaks against the Belgians around Jashari, and the miserable form against the Germans with national goalie Kobel, who played 1:1 at home against the French.
