He said: “We know each other very well, and we understand the difficulty we will face in this tie.”

Following the draw at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, the much-anticipated rivalry between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will be the main event in the Round of 16 of the 2024–2025 UEFA Champions League.

 For the first time in eight years, fans will see two derbies this season—possibly four encounters overall if there is a Copa del Rey final, which is made even more likely by recent contentious officiating. This match is the sixth meeting between these two Madrid powerhouses in European competition.

Jude Bellingham will not play for Real Madrid in the first leg at Santiago Bernabéu since he has been suspended with a yellow card.  For the second leg, which will take place at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium, Bellingham is anticipated to make a comeback.

Atletico Madrid has had little success recently; in the last seven derbies, they have only won once and drawn six times.  If they make it this far, they might face Arsenal or PSV in the quarterfinals, then PSG vs. Liverpool and Club Brugge vs. Aston Villa will determine their semifinal opponents.

 The importance of this “big match” in the Champions League knockout round was highlighted by Diego Simeone, head coach of Atletico Madrid, who claimed that his team is “prepared” for the matches on March 4 or 5 and March 11 or 12, first at Bernabéu and then at the Metropolitano.

Instead of emphasizing the advantages of staying away from travel, Simeone commented, “This is a tremendous rivalry, and we are ready.”  He said, “We will give everything for this match,” without addressing the ongoing scrutiny of officiating.

 Following the draw, Carlos Bucero, the director of football at Atletico, said, “no opponent is easy at this stage.”  Given that Real Madrid has consistently been the favorite in this competition, he acknowledged the benefit of playing the rematch at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano and acknowledged that both teams enter the match with confidence.

 “We will prioritize the first leg, and we will undoubtedly have an advantage if we play the second leg at home.  “We’ll arrive prepared,” Bucero said.

“We played each other twice in La Liga this year, and both games finished in draws.  We’ll practice diligently, and we’ll adopt Diego’s strategy of focusing on each game individually,” Bucero said.

 Emilio Butragueño, the Director of Institutional Relations of Real Madrid, on the other hand, emphasized his players’ competitive nature and high-stakes match experience while expressing complete faith in them.

“We are well acquainted and understand the difficulties this tie poses.  However, the Madrid club released a statement from Butragueño that read, “We all feel the passion and excitement this competition brings.”

 “They have a strong team, and in order to advance, we must play really well.  Butragueño went on, “I want to reaffirm our faith in our players’ competitiveness, experience, and everything this tournament stands for.”