A Madrid derby in the Champions League Round of 16 is arguably the cream of the fixture crop. History is against Atlético de Madrid: but does the tightness of the LaLiga table, and a much-improved squad, play into Simeone’s favour? Spanish Football correspondent Jack Harris previews the key talking points.
This season’s third iteration of the Battle of Madrid takes place on Europe’s greatest stage – and Atléti desperately need a win.
The Santiago Bernabéu will host one of European football’s most underrated rivalries on Tuesday night, as reigning Champions League holders Real Madrid welcome eternal underdogs Atlético de Madrid for another instalment of the ever-tempestuous Derbi de Madrid.
The two titans of the Spanish capital will lock horns for the third time this season, following two nervy 1-1 draws in LaLiga better remembered for their fiery, ill-tempered atmosphere than the quality of the football on display. But this shouldn’t come as too big a surprise: these are two same-city protagonists that seriously hate one another.
Real Madrid don’t just have home advantage for the first-leg – they have history firmly on their side. The two teams have met on nine occasions in the Champions League (in all of its iterations): Real have emerged victorious five times. Atléti’s meagre two wins will no doubt be a mental burden that weighs heavily on the minds of everyone at Los Rojiblancos, but could this finally be the moment for Simeone’s men to break Atlético de Madrid’s European derby jinx?
Time for Atléti to cough up after transfer window of dreams.
The supposed second-biggest team in the Spanish capital raised plenty of eyebrows in the summer of 2024.
Four marquee signings in Robin Le Normand, Alexander Sørloth, Conor Gallagher and Julián Álvarez were not recruited to win LaLiga – although they look to have a more than decent chance at doing so. This was a shopping trip with the Champions League in mind: a £170million expense intended to finally shake off Atléti’s hoodoo in Europe’s premier competition.
There’s a comparison – remarkable in its symmetry – to be made between Luis Suárez and his fellow South American Julián Álvarez. Admittedly, Pep Guardiola had far better reason to abandon La Araña than Koeman had to exile Suarez: the Manchester City boss had brute assassin Erling Haaland to rely on.
Not since their dramatic league campaign of 2020/21 have Atléti been so well placed to conquer Spain’s top flight, an out-of-favour Luis Suárez departing FC Barcelona to take the hitman role that Los Colchoneros so desperately needed. The Uruguayan legend fired in 21 goals across 32 appearances, the majority of which were last-gasp strikes or game-winning braces that ultimately overcame Real Madrid on the final matchday of the season.
So there’s a comparison – remarkable in its symmetry – to be made between Suarez and his fellow South American Álvarez. Admittedly, Pep Guardiola had far better reason to abandon La Araña than Koeman had to exile Suárez: the Manchester City boss had brute assassin Erling Haaland to rely on. Álvarez is far younger, and vastly less experienced, than Suárez was, but the effect that his £79million exit has had on his career has been similarly revolutionary. 10 goals and 2 assists from only 26 starts is a more than acceptable return for a 25 year old just starting to cut his teeth in Spain.
Álvarez is frighteningly quick and remarkably clinical, capable of collapsing a defence with a certain Roadrunner-esque glee and deft, technical simplicity. His battle with an injury-ridden Real Madrid backline will be fascinating, particularly in the duel with sensationally-talented young centre back Raúl Asencio. Álvarez’s fellow striker Sørloth – brought in from Villarreal in the same window on a £26million fee – could be vital if Atléti are to triumph in this battle, boasting a physical profile more akin to the combative strength of Asencio.
Whichever players are called upon by Diego Simeone, Átleti will need a strong performance from their summer recruits to justify their ownership’s ambitious investments for this season.
Another memorable European night for in-form Mbappé?
Real Madrid epitomise that old lesson that you don’t need to spend big to succeed. Well, sort of.
Yes: Kylian Mbappé arrived on a free transfer from Paris Saint Germain. His astronomical wages, however, hardly constitute a low-cost approach on Florentino Perez’s part. But Real’s shrewd owner has always had an eye for a relative bargain: the ‘project’ players in Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes, the patience of the Mbappé saga, the careful sourcing of young gems in Endrick and Arda Güler. Perez knows how to build a high-value squad without jeopardising the accounts.
The transfer of Mbappé was never about the money, though: it took Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti three attempts to finally land the signature of the long-awaited heir to ‘Mr Champions League’, Cristiano Ronaldo. Karim Benzema was a more than adequate stand-in for the role, carrying Los Blancos to their 14th title in 2022. Joselu Mato and CR7 have likely never been mentioned in the same breath before, but the Spaniard – on loan from Espanyol – will always have his brace at the death against Bayern Munich in 2024 as a souvenir of his time in the Madrileño spotlight.
Real’s shrewd owner has always had an eye for a relative bargain: the ‘project’ players in Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes, the patience of the Mbappé saga, the careful sourcing of young gems in Endrick and Arda Güler. Perez knows how to build a high-value squad without jeopardising the accounts.
Mbappé is the future of Real Madrid: their first marquee forward since Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus in 2017. No doubt brought in with nights like this one in mind, Mbappé’s blistering recent form will be of little interest to the Real hierarchy if he fails to punish the Rojiblancos on home soil. With two goals to bury Barça in the quarterfinals last season, a Camp Nou hattrick in the round-of-16 of 2020/21, and a starring role in PSG’s only-ever run to the final in 2019/20, Mbappé has certainly demonstrated the pedigree required to lift Europe’s greatest prize.
Leaving PSG seemed motivated by an almost singular focus to rewrite 2020’s near miss. No matter how much money they spent, PSG could never quite build the team chemistry necessary to conquer Europe, with a constant battle of egos eventually catalysing Mbappé’s desire to leave home. There’s something similar in the waters at Real – as evidenced by the club’s fiasco surrounding Vini Jr’s Ballon d’Or snub – but Mbappé finally has a team capable of supporting him towards achieving his lofty ambitions. What’s more, the big personalities seem (for now) to be gelling.
A shaky start for the Parisian assassin seems to be firmly in the rearview mirror now, with a hattrick in Real’s second-leg triumph over Manchester City the jewel in a crown already studded with ritual league humiliations that reminded LaLiga’s defences who rules the roost. The reigning champions will need more of the same from Mbappé if they are to overcome their bitter crosstown rivals.
The spectre of history haunts Diego Simeone.
Those two aforementioned wins for Atléti in the Champions League? An ultimately ineffectual 2-1 second-leg win in 2016/17, and a 1-0 second-leg win, in 1958/59, that forced a semifinal tie-breaker between the two sides. Oh, and Atléti went on to lose.
Real Madrid always find a way to win a game in this competition. Be it Rodrygo’s late goals against Man City to set up extra time, Joselu’s last-gasp brace, or the bizarre meeting with Chelsea at the Bernabéu in 2022, Real really do have something of a Midas touch in this competition. Not only do they have players in their roster with direct experience of these games, but the likes of Jude Bellingham are artisans in the craft of inflicting late, late heartbreak.
The history of this fixture makes for dismal reading from an Atlético perspective. When considering that their losses include two Champions League finals – one of which on penalties, the other with a late Sergio Ramos header that forced extra time – the pendulum swings significantly towards Real Madrid.
Ramos’ thundering late header in the 2014 final proved two things. Firstly, Real Madrid always find a way to win a game in this competition. Be it Rodrygo’s late goals against Man City to set up extra time, Joselu’s last-gasp brace, or the bizarre meeting with Chelsea at the Bernabéu in 2022, Real really do have something of a Midas touch in this competition. Not only do they have players in their roster with direct experience of these games, but the likes of Jude Bellingham are artisans in the craft of inflicting late, late heartbreak.
Simeone must take some comfort from Real’s appalling performance in the new-look group stage, however. Real Madrid had never before lost three Champions League games in a row, this year suffering consecutive defeats to LOSC Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool. Admittedly, it’s a very different picture now, having mostly sorted the catastrophic defensive injury crisis that has recently plagued the club.
Atléti, meanwhile, boast a truly complete squad – and one that has proven it can work well as a unit. Simeone’s men face a tough initial test away from home but, if they can take something from the Bernabéu, their dogged ‘park the bus’ defensive style can surely go some of the way to stifling Real Madrid’s intimidating attacking star power.
In 2018, Atléti proved their ability to down Real in Europe, with a 4-2 win after extra time in the UEFA Super Cup. Now, in the competition that Real Madrid have made their own, Atlético de Madrid are finally capable of taking the European bragging rights. With Simeone at the helm and a roster packed with fresh talent, you shouldn’t bet against them to progress.
