Atletico Madrid the best defence in club football
Atletico Madrid recorded yet another clean sheet in their 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday night in semi-final first leg. The draw gives them a good advantage to take to the Allianz Arena for next week’s crucial second leg.
Los Rojiblancos defensive record has been rock solid this season, but even more impressive is their defensive record under Diego Simeone at the Vicente Calderon in Europe’s elite competition.
Atleti have played 17 times at home in the Champions League under the feisty Argentinian and have conceded just four goals. That impressive record continued against Bayern, despite the absence of defensive lynchpin Diego Godin.
However, centre-back pairing Stefan Savic and Jose Gimenez on the night produced a very solid display and did their best to restrict Bayern’s shots on goal. The closest the German champions came was from a powerful long-range from Austrian international David Alaba that smashed against the crossbar.
Bayern of course dominated possession, but in true Atletico Madrid style the side from the Spanish capital held firm in the face of opposition domination. The team defend as a unit and that means they are highly difficult to break down, even for the best attacks in the world, as both Barcelona and Bayern have proven in recent games.
The second leg will be far more difficult for Atletico to negotiate though. Los Rojiblancos will set up in a similar way to how they have throughout Simeone’s reign. They will defend solidly and attempt to hit the German side on the break.
It would take a take brave man to write-off Simeone’s team achieving the result they need to make it to the final.
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