Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United: Edinson Cavani to miss Champions League last-16 clash

The Premier League giants will face Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the last-16 contest on Wednesday night.

Edinson Cavani in a file photo; Credit: Manchester United Twitter
By Karthik Raman | Feb 22, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Manchester United are in for a mighty test when they travel to the Spanish capital to take on the defending La Liga champions in the Champions League round-of-16 clash. The Premier League giants will face Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the last-16 contest on Wednesday night. A match of this significance will demand the highest possible performance and concentration levels from the players to get the best possible result. However, United have to make do without their veteran centre-forward Edinson Cavani. Speaking to the media ahead of the match, United interim head coach Ralf Rangnick gave an update on the team news and informed the reason behind the Uruguayan striker’s absence.

“No Edi will not be able to make the trip, he didn’t train and has not been training for the last couple of weeks. He will not be part of the group,” Rangnick told the reporters in his media briefing. “He has problems with his groin and as long as he does not feel able to fully sprint, it doesn’t make sense to train him and force him back into training. I think he has enough experience himself to know when he is fully available.”

READ MORE – Cristiano Ronaldo’s best displays against Atletico Madrid

Manchester United are on a two-game winning run

Manchester United will be heading into the Champions League match on the back of two positive results against Brighton and Leeds United in the Premier League. When asked whether now everyone is starting to see the fighting spirit from United, Rangnick said, “I think we also showed it in the earlier games and the games before that, but in the end, Bruno just said it, it’s about getting the right result. In the last two games, we just made sure we rewarded ourselves with points in both games and this is what it will also be like for the future, in the Champions League against Atletico but also for the games in the Premier League. It’s not only about playing well for 45 or 60 minutes, which also we did in the games before those two games, it’s about getting the result.”

Rangnick then went on to explain what are the important things to keep in mind when there is less time to prepare for a game of this magnitude. “Of course, we had a game on Sunday, a very physical one, Atletico played away at Osasuna on Saturday, so there might be a slight advantage with regards to recovery on their side. Maybe we will have some fresh legs on the pitch, we will see tomorrow. We need to play tactically on a high level, physically, mentally, we’ll need to be prepared, emotional, it will be a hostile atmosphere in their stadium,” he stated. 

Don’t think the fixture will be decided tomorrow: Ralf Rangnick

“Some of our players will not be received with a red carpet obviously, so this is what we are all aware of, but I think we have enough experience in the team and, on the other hand, also enough talented young players. I think a mix of those two groups is perfect. We are looking forward to this game. This is why we are all here and why we love this ball game, in order to play in stadiums like tomorrow and, in two or three weeks, when we have the second leg, we play at Old Trafford. It’s about getting the best possible result, I don’t think the fixture will be decided tomorrow, it will be decided in the second leg at Old Trafford.”





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