This is the draw that nobody at Real Madrid wanted. Conversely they will
be licking their lips over at Atletico. Real may be European champions
but there is one team they feared in this Champions League quarter-final
draw more than any other. Not Bayern, not Barcelona but Atletico. The
reason for that is Real Madrid just cannot beat them.
If there
is one certainty from Diego Simeone's time at Vicente Calderon it is
that he has established Atleti as kings of Madrid. It is an anomaly that
Real are the best team in Europe but cannot claim to be the best team
in their own city.
Atletico have played Real six times since the
Champions League final last season in Lisbon and not only are they
unbeaten but have proven themselves to be comprehensively better than
their rivals head to head. They have four wins from six matches this
season. The two other games finished level. Atletico have scored 12
goals in the process. Real have netted just four. Those signs do not
bode well for Madrid over a two-legged knockout tie.
While the
record books show a 4-1 win in last season's final, the truth of the
matter is that Atletico were about the width of a goalpost from being
declared European champions. Sergio Ramos's header in injury time just
beat the reach of Thibaut Courtois and Real Madrid pummelled their
exhausted neighbours in extra-time to lay their hands on la Decima.
If
Atletico were the underdogs then that particular message was lost on
Simeone. His reaction to losing the final last season was one of a man
who just would not and could not accept what had transpired. He fought
with the opposing bench. He lunged for Raphael Varane. He had not let
his team accept their billing as third-best team in Spain and sure has
hell was not going to accept easily their status as runners-up in Europe
either.
His Atleti team had run riot all over Europe,
eliminating Barcelona and Chelsea in the process, but were unable to
muster enough in the final. Diego Costa, injured in that final, has
gone. So too have Courtois and Filipe Luis. Atletico may not be the
force they were last season in the Primera Division but they are staying
the course in the Champions League. They will have vengeance on their
minds.
While
fellow heavyweights Bayern and Barcelona will be relatively happy with
their draw, Real will be genuinely fearful for their prospects of
progressing.
“We know they are very competitive and it will be
difficult," said Real's Director of Institutional Relations Emilio
Butragueno. "It’s an even tie and small aspects will be important.
“They are a very strong, cohesive team, strong from set-pieces and have a great spirit.
“We
have to recuperate all the injured players we have. We are the title
holders and we’ll do our best to get into the semi-finals.”
Wind
the clock back to early February and Atletico delivered a 4-0 defeat to
Real that left the club in institutional crisis. It rocked the
foundations and provoked a desperate run of form that had the hierarchy
wondering whether Carlo Ancelotti's time as coach was up.
That
had followed elimination from the Copa del Rey, further defeat in the
league and a Supercopa loss over two legs for good measure. Whether it's
over 90 minutes or 180, Atletico have the edge on their city rivals.
Ancelotti
clung on. The last-16 aggregate win over Schalke was unconvincing and
only brought more questions. Anything approaching that level of
performance on the part of Real Madrid will see them eliminated.
They
can count on the returns of Ramos and Luka Modric, which is good news
indeed, but there is no guarantee that the presence of those two will do
anything to stop the flow of successive positive results for Atletico.
Title : sports - Ancelotti's worst nightmare as Madrid draw Atletico
Description : This is the draw that nobody at Real Madrid wanted. Conversely they will be licking their lips over at Atletico. Real may be European cha...