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Champions League football returns to the capital of Spain as English giants Manchester United take on Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their round of 16. The Red Devils qualified in the round of 16 as the leaders of their group, whereas the Colchoneros finished second in their group behind Liverpool.
In the pre-match press conference, Atletico manager Diego Simeone talked about how Manchester United are one of the top teams in the last 14 matches. He also talked about the impact of interim manager Ralf Ragnick on the team.
Simeone said, “We're facing one of the best teams in the world in the last 14 games if I'm not mistaken. They've just lost one. With the new manager, Ralf Rangnick, it's given the team solidity, teamwork, commitment. We can see what Manchester United was always like. They've evolved since the new manager arrived, they're already fourth in the league.”
"It's an intense, dynamic team, very brave, with very good forwards, very good footballers overall and who try to make a huge effort to try and unite the huge talents they have in 11 players. It's going to be a very difficult game, as every Champions League game is. But we have a lot of anticipation to play in our stadium in front of our fans and we're lucky to play the last 16 at home because we couldn't play that, we couldn't do that last year,” he added.
Simeone then also talked about Manchester United’s shape of play in their recent games. He said, “The team is much more compact, it's stronger. They have a solidity at the back, they're a very physical team with the central defenders and the midfield they've got.“
“They are really strong and it's really, really difficult to find vulnerabilities there. I always assess the virtues of our rival, but of course, we will try to find a way to try and hurt them, try and find our way to the goal, if you like.”
The Colchoneros have sort of struggled in the La Liga as they are placed fifth in the league table below a struggling Barcelona side. Both teams are level on points but the Blaugrana have one game in hand as they have played 24 matches. Athletico will also miss their captain Koke against Manchester as he suffered a thigh muscle injury.
