(Football news) Atletico Madrid defeated Inter Milan on penalties, while Barcelona defeated Napoli 4-2 on aggregate, securing their places in the Champions League quarterfinals earlier this week. It was not exactly the best preparation for Atletico’s second leg of their last-16 Champions League matchup with Inter, as they lost 2-0 at Cadiz last weekend in La Liga, easily their worst performance of the year.
Memphis Depay’s goal in the 87th minute pulled the Red and Whites even, and they went on to win 3-2 on penalties to advance to the quarterfinals. Diego Simeone’s team had fallen behind 1-0 in the first leg in Italy, but they rallied for a 2-1 victory on the night to cut the deficit to 2-2 on aggregate.
Atletico will take on Borussia Dortmund in the final eight of the European Cup, with the first leg taking place at Wanda Metropolitano, but the capital outfit cannot afford to take their eye off the ball in La Liga, as a top-four position in the table is far from secure at this stage of the campaign.
Indeed, Simeone’s side sit fourth in the division, just two points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, while they are six behind third-placed Barcelona ahead of this weekend’s contest.
The Red and Whites, as mentioned, were beaten 2-0 at Cadiz in the league last time out, but they have the best home record in La Liga this season, picking up 40 points from 14 matches courtesy of a record of 13 wins and one draw.
Atletico’s last two wins over Barcelona have come on home soil, which should hand them confidence, and they have incredibly not beaten the Catalan outfit away from home in La Liga since February 2006.
In the meantime, Barcelona, with a 4-2 aggregate victory, secured their place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League by defeating Napoli 3-1 in the second leg of their match on Tuesday night.
After the match between the Catalan team and Paris Saint-Germain in the round of eight, the victor of that match will play either Atletico Madrid or Dortmund in the semifinals, with Manchester City, Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Bayern Munich drawn on the other side.
With their 1-0 league victory against Mallorca last weekend, Barcelona maintained their spot in the lead. They have now won nine straight games across all competitions.
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