Coming off arguably one of the best wins of the season
against Valencia, Atlético Madrid travel to London to take on Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals.It’s a winner-take-all match following Wednesday’s 1-1 draw, and both clubs are desperate to end up in Budapest for the May 30 final. Tuesday night’s winner will take on either Bayern Munich or holders PSG in Hungary.
Many at Atlético de Madrid left last Wednesday’s first leg with mixed emotions. The result is not “bad” by
any means, but many felt that Atleti deserved to take a one- or two-goal lead to north London. Atleti were sharp from the start, but an errant Julián Alvarez header led to a chain reaction that culminated in Viktor Gyökeres winning — and converting — a penalty just before halftime.
In the second half, Marcos Llorente’s long shot from outside the box resulted in a Ben White handball for a penalty, which La Araña converted before Antoine Griezmann and Ademola Lookman spurned multiple chances over the next 20 minutes. The momentum came to a screeching halt when an exhausted Alvarez was subbed off with ankle discomfort
That second half performance, combined with the confidence-boosting result at Valencia, should have Atlético supporters feeling confident heading to the Arsenal Stadium. Furthermore, in three of the Rojiblancos’ past four cup ties between the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, they have won the first leg by multiple goals before losing the second leg to just about remain in the competitions.
The narrative for Arsenal leaving Madrid was how were the Gunners going to handle navigating two competitions where pressure is the highest for both. They seemingly silenced those concerns by dominating Fulham 3-0 at home on Saturday to shift the pressure back on Manchester City to perform in the Premier League title race.
In doubt for Tuesday’s match are Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz, both recovering from muscle injuries. Ødegaard picked up his injury midway through the second half in the first leg in the Metropolitano while Havertz did not play against Atleti at all.
Expect a similar lineup as last Wednesday’s game, with one essential change: Noni Madueke is expected to make way for Bukayo Saka, who scored a goal over his 45 minutes played against Fulham.
Arsenal have not conceded more than two goals in a match since January, and in the Champions League this season, Mikel Arteta’s men have conceded just six goals in all.
Team news
Diego Simeone was able to rotate his entire starting XI from the first leg against Arsenal on Saturday against Valencia. The only two players who played from that same lineup were Antoine Griezmann and Koke, who both entered with less than 20 minutes to go.
Julián Alvarez, Dávid Hancko, Marcos Llorente, Giuliano Simeone and Alexander Sørloth did not travel with the team to Valencia, and all five are expected to be available against Arsenal. Alvarez is recovering from a low-grade ankle sprain and should be ready to go.
José María Giménez is gradually training with the team, but it remains to be seen whether the Atleti third captain will be ready to go for Tuesday. Pablo Barrios remains out, as the Spaniard continues to recover from his injury picked up against Athletic. There is optimism that Barrios and Nico Gonzalez could be back for the Champions League final, if Atleti were to advance.
The big question that remains is how Cholo Simeone will handle the right-hand side of the pitch. Will he bench the out-of-form Giuliano and keep Robin Le Normand in the lineup? The strategy seemed to work against Arsenal last Wednesday, and Simeone will need to get creative to break down a side that does not break down very easily.
Following Nahuel Molina’s performance on Saturday, some are wondering whether Molina could slot into Simeone’s typical RW position or at least give the Argentine some competition. Given Arsenal’s staunch defensive resilience and Molina’s ability to shoot from distance, it could be worth a gamble.
Historical matchup
Atlético de Madrid hold a 1-2-1 all-time record against Arsenal in all competitions. Obviously, the last time these two clubs faced off was less than a week ago.
It’s worth noting that the last time Atlético Madrid faced Arsenal in a two-legged European semifinal, Atleti advanced to the final 2-1 on aggregate, back in the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League.
Further, the last time Atlético faced a London-based club in a Champions League semifinal after drawing the first leg, winning away at Valencia in the league, and seeing their opponent keep a clean sheet in their own domestic match, Atleti went on to win the second leg 3-1 and advance to the Champions League final. This scenario occurred in the 2013/14 season against José Mourinho’s Chelsea.
Prediction: 2-1, Atleti win and advance to the Champions League final. Griezmann opens the scoring early, Alvarez scores just before halftime and Saka scores for Arsenal, but it’s too little too late.
Possible 11: Oblak; Ruggeri, Hancko, Le Normand, Pubill; Koke, Cardoso, Llorente; Griezmann, Lookman, Alvarez.
Notable players who have represented both clubs
José Antonio Reyes, Gabriel Paulista and Lucas Torreira.
