It all began for Atletico Madrid against Chelsea
MADRID — It was after a victory over Chelsea three years ago that Atletico Madrid began to assert itself as a contender in European soccer.
The Spanish club won over two legs in the 2014 Champions League semifinals to get its first shot at the European title in nearly 40 years. Atletico went on to reach another final in ’16, and to the semifinals last season.
Wednesday’s group match in Madrid will be the first between the teams since Atletico beat Chelsea — the 2012 Champions League champion — with a 3-1 win in England to secure a spot in the final against Real Madrid. Atletico and Chelsea had drawn 0-0 in the first leg at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
There were some familiar faces in that matchup at Stamford Bridge.
Striker Fernando Torres is now with Atletico but he played for Chelsea at the time, scoring the English club’s lone goal in that home loss. One of Atletico’s goals was scored by Diego Costa, who later played for Chelsea before recently reaching a deal to return to the Spanish club.
Atletico’s goalkeeper was Thibaut Courtois, who now is defending Chelsea’s goal.
Atletico left back Filipe Luis played for Chelsea in 2014-15, and current Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata played in Atletico’s youth squads before eventually becoming a regular with city rival Real Madrid.
Atletico had also beaten Chelsea 4-1 in the 2012 European Super Cup final, behind a first-half hat trick by Radamel Falcao. The teams’ other matches were in the group stage of the Champions League in ’09, with Chelsea winning 4-0 at home and drawing 2-2 in Madrid.
The Spanish club has never lost at home against English clubs, and it’s looking to carry its impressive overall home record in European competitions into the new Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Atletico will be making its European debut at the Metropolitano, where it has won its first two Spanish league matches without conceding any goals.
Atletico was unbeaten in its last 11 games at the Calderon in the Champions League, and it lost only one of its 23 home games in European competitions under coach Diego Simeone, considered the main responsible for turning the club into a European contender.
The Calderon was beloved by Atletico fans because it produced one of the greatest atmospheres in soccer, and the 68,000-capacity Metropolitano has already shown that it can also be a factor helping keep Atletico tough to beat at home.