My Leagues

Countries

Atletico Madrid has the quality to trouble Bayern Munich

Atletico Madrid has the quality to trouble Bayern Munich

Atletico Madrid host German giants Bayern Munich at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday night in the Champions League semi-final first leg. The Spanish side caused a major surprise in the quarter-finals by eliminating reigning champions Barcelona.

Diego Simeone’s side secured passage with a 2-0 victory in the second leg of tie with Antoine Griezmann scoring a brace, after Los Rojiblancos suffered a 2-1 defeat at the Nou Camp.

The second leg defeat of the Catalan giants illustrated Atletico Madrid’s main strengths perfectly. Simeone’s team defended resolutely and hit Barcelona with incisive counter-attacks.

Defensive solidarity has been hallmark of the club from the Spanish capital under Simeone, as they have kept six clean sheets in their last eight outings in Europe’s elite competition. In fact Atleti have the tightest defence of any team in Europe’s major leagues.

Bayern Munich will provide another stern test for that resolute defence, especially as centre-back Diego Godin is set to miss out through injury. Bayern have one of the best attacks in Europe, but so did Barcelona and Atletico kept the Catalans out.

Bayern are favourites to progress, but the Bavarians do have their weaknesses, like their poor away record in this competition. Guardiola’s side have recorded just two wins on their travels in nine Champions League games, which is not exactly the record of European champions.

Anybody believing that Bayern are going to breeze past Atletico best think again, as Simeone’s team are set-up ideally to play against teams like Bayern, who are good going forward but vulnerable at the back.

Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone for much of the Argentine’s reign in the Spanish capital have been upsetting the odds. It would be no major surprise if Los Rojiblancos defeated German giants Bayern.

Champions League Group A
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Bayern München 16 6 5 1 0 6
2
FC København 8 6 2 2 2 0
3
Galatasaray SK 5 6 1 2 3 -3
4
Manchester United 4 6 1 1 4 -3
Champions League Group B
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Arsenal 13 6 4 1 1 12
2
PSV Eindhoven 9 6 2 3 1 -2
3
Lens 8 6 2 2 2 -5
4
Sevilla 2 6 0 2 4 -5
Champions League Group C
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Real Madrid 18 6 6 0 0 9
2
Napoli 10 6 3 1 2 1
3
Sporting Braga 4 6 1 1 4 -6
4
Union Berlin 2 6 0 2 4 -4
Champions League Group D
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Real Sociedad 12 6 3 3 0 5
2
Inter 12 6 3 3 0 3
3
SL Benfica 4 6 1 1 4 -4
4
RB Salzburg 4 6 1 1 4 -4
Champions League Group E
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Atlético Madrid 14 6 4 2 0 11
2
Lazio 10 6 3 1 2 0
3
Feyenoord 6 6 2 0 4 -1
4
Celtic 4 6 1 1 4 -10
Champions League Group F
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Borussia Dortmund 11 6 3 2 1 3
2
PSG 8 6 2 2 2 1
3
Milan 8 6 2 2 2 -3
4
Newcastle United 5 6 1 2 3 -1
Champions League Group G
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Manchester City 18 6 6 0 0 11
2
RB Leipzig 12 6 4 0 2 3
3
BSC Young Boys 4 6 1 1 4 -6
4
FK Crvena Zvezda 1 6 0 1 5 -8
Champions League Group H
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
FC Porto 12 6 4 0 2 7
2
Barcelona 12 6 4 0 2 6
3
Shakhtar Donetsk 9 6 3 0 3 -2
4
Royal Antwerp 3 6 1 0 5 -11

Top trends

Video Highlight