Atletico failed to register even a single attempt on goal in the first leg at Etihad stadium and Simeone has yielded lots of criticism for his overly defensive tactics.
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Atletico Madrid will be aiming to overturn a one goal deficit when they host Manchester City at the Wanda Metropolitano for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday. Kevin de Bruyne’s 70th minute strike separated the two sides in the first leg, giving Man City the control in the tie. The winner in Madrid will go on to face either Real Madrid or Chelsea in the semi-finals.
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This is our time. pic.twitter.com/g6BfMrqbv3
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) April 12, 2022
In the first leg at Eithad stadium, Atletico came out with a clear game plan to sit back and defend and earn a draw, and if possible hit the opposition on the counter-attacks. Diego simeone’s side executed the first part of the plan near to perfection, but De Bruyne’s strike pushed the Spanish side onto the back foot in the tie.
Atletico failed to register even a single attempt on goal and Simeone has yielded lots of criticism for his overly defensive tactics. Meanwhile the Argentine tactician’s 5-5-0 formation prevented the Premier League side from running away with the tie in the first leg.
Now, the La Liga giants can’t just sit back, they will have to somehow find two goals and at the same time prevent the opposition from scoring, in order to go through to the final four.
Simeone said that his team, which reached Champions League finals in 2014 and 2016, has an identity and will stick with it, despite having to win Wednesday’s game to qualify for the semi-finals.
“We’re up against a team that plays very well. A very good positional game, but we’re hopeful. It’s clear that hope alone isn’t enough, but we’re going to try to take the game where we can hurt them,” the Argentine added.
“Words don’t say much, the important thing is what happens after the game starts.”
Atletico have been known for their defensive tactics and it has given them lots of success over the last decade or so. The team is built to play counter-attacking football with little emphasis on keeping the ball.
Atletico normally has a very solid defence and whenever they have had success, it’s mostly down to their defenders. However, this season, Simeone’s side has conceded a lot more goals than many would expect from them. They have already conceded 38 goals in the La Liga, only the 11th best defensive record in the league.
On Wednesday, Simeone’s side is likely to revert to a 4-4-2 formation with little more emphasis on attack as compared to the first leg. Atletico will need more pace up front to hit the opposition on the counter-attacks, therefore Angel Correa could come into the playing eleven, in place of either Joao Felix or Antoine Griezmann.
It’s going to depend on how quickly Atletico can make the transition from defence to attack and midfielder Koke will be key to that. Apart from doing the defenside duties, the Spanird will need to be precise with his ball distribution to the attackers. Meanwhile Argentine midfielder Rodrigo de Paul is also likely to come in because of his ability to deliver quality balls from set-piece situations.
Man City are unbeaten in their last 12 away games, winning ten of them, while they have conceded just one goal in their last 630 minutes of domestic football. Atletico certainly go into the tie as underdogs but they will not be low on confidence and will fancy their chances as Guardiola’s side has a history of faltering in the crucial knockout ties in the European stage.
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