(Football news) Manchester United are back in the UCL knockouts after a two year hiatus. The Red Devils haven't made it to the semi finals of the competition since 2011 under Sir Alex Ferguson but this time they have the greatest player in Champions League history on their side. Cristiano Ronaldo may not be as good as he was a few years ago but when it comes to the UCL he knows how to deliver the goods. Even this season with Manchester United, he has scored in all the 5 group stage games he has played in. Occasions like these is precisely why Manchester United signed the Portuguese superstar.
Atletico Madrid on the other hand are having a really tough season. They are struggling at 5th place in the La Liga and they barely qualified for UCL knockouts. The Rojiblancos haven't made it to the UCL semi finals since 2017. To make matters worse they will now have to go face to face against Cristiano Ronaldo who is their worst nightmare. Ronaldo has scored 25 goals against Atletico Madrid, making him their 2nd favourite opponents after Sevilla. He has 4 hat-tricks against them 2 in the La Liga and the other 2 in the Champions League.
In the UEFA Champions League specifically, Ronaldo has always hurt Atleti. He first met them in the 2014 final where he scored a penalty in extra time to lead Los Blancos to La Decima. In the following season he set up Javier Hernandez (Chicharito) for the only goal in the quarter final tie between the two Madrid clubs. The rivals once again met in the 2016 final where Ronaldo scored the winning penalty in the shootout after the game ended 1-1. They once again met in the 2017 semi finals where Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in the first leg as Real Madrid won the tie 4-2.
After Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid to join Juventus, the Bianconeri were pitted against Atletico Madrid in the 2019 UCL Round of 16. After losing 2-0 in Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo scored an iconic hat-trick to win the tie for Juventus as Atletico Madrid were once again left with a broken heart. Manchester United fans will be hoping that their beloved number 7 can produce something similar this time around. As a whole both teams are struggling and believe it or not the UCL is the only competition they can win this season.
Manchester United's biggest worry is their defence which is prone to making individual errors. Raphael Varane has played a lot of games against Atletico Madrid and should undoubtedly start the game. Another interesting contest will be set pieces as Manchester United have scored only one goal from corners which was on the weekend against Leeds. Atletico Madrid on the other hand are prone to concede via set pieces which has been their downfall this season.
Diego Simeone will be missing captain Koke who suffered an injury in training. Daniel Wass and Matheus Cunha are still unavailable while Thomas Lemar remains a doubt. Yannick Carrasco is also unavailable due to suspension. On the other hand Edinson Cavani is the only absentee for Manchester United apart from Mason Greenwood who is suspended by the club.
Atletico Madrid Possible Starting XI:
Jan Oblak; Stefan Savic, Felipe, Reinildo; Sime Vrsaljko, Marcos Llorente, Hector Herrera, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Renan Lodi; Angel Correa, Joao Felix
Manchester United Possible Starting XI:
David De Gea; Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; McTominay, Paul Pogba ; Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford; Cristiano Ronaldo
Also read: Champions League: Benfica face stern test against free flowing Ajax
