Atletico hope strikers find form
MADRID: This time, defence alone won’t be enough to keep Atletico Madrid alive in the Champions League. Diego Simeone’s team needs its attack to wake up if it wants to overcome the 1-0 first-leg loss to Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the European competition.
The team was held scoreless and managed a total of one shot on target in its last two matches. To reach their first Champions League semi-finals since 2017, Atletico need their stars to step up when City visit on Wednesday.
João Félix, Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suárez have combined to score only four goals since early March—two by Félix and two by Suárez in the same Spanish league game.
Matheus Cunha and Ángel Correa, the other Atletico forwards, also haven’t helped much recently, being unable to score since February. “Hopefully our players with greater hierarchy will have a fantastic night tomorrow,” Simeone said. “It will be a game in which anything can happen.”
Other than the double against last-place Alaves on April 2, Félix is scoreless in six matches in all competitions, including two with Portugal’s national team. Suárez hadn’t found the net since Feb. 19. The 35-yearold Uruguay striker was key for Atletico in their Spanish league title-winning campaign last year but has played a reduced role this campaign.
Griezmann has been struggling the most, though, with no goals in nine consecutive matches for Atletico in a scoreless streak that dates back to a del Rey match in January. He also didn’t score in two recent matches with France. The 31-year-old forward returned to Atletico this season after a lackluster stint with Barcelona but hasn’t fully met expectations.
Down to fourth
Simeone rested Félix against Mallorca on Saturday and started with Suárez and Griezmann in attack, but they struggled in a 1-0 loss that left the team fourth in the league with seven rounds to go, in danger of not securing a Champions League spot next season.
Atlético had only one shot on target against relegation-threatened Mallorca and none in the first leg against City. Still, Simeone hinted Atletico won’t change their style much on Wednesday.
“We won’t steer away from what we usually do,” Simeone said. “We will try to get the timing right to create our opportunities, and hopefully we can combine better in transition and take advantage of our counterattacks.”
Besides their offensive struggles, Atletico’s recent home record in European competitions also has been disappointing. They haven’t won in their last six home games in the
Champions League, with four draws and two losses. They lost to Liverpool and AC Milan this season, with draws against Porto in the group stage and Manchester United in the first leg of the round of 16.
Home comfort
Liverpool’s goal is to become a team nobody wants to face, manager Juergen Klopp said on Tuesday ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Benfica at Anfield.
Liverpool lead 3-1 after victory in Lisbon last week and Klopp’s side are in a rich vein of form having lost only once in their last 22 games in all compecopa titions, winning 18 times.
“We were good in Benfica, I liked the game. The main target is again being the one team no one wants to play,” Klopp told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s clash. “Really aggressive in a football sense, defending well, knowing more about the way they play.”
The English League Cup winners have what Klopp described as a “super intense” schedule and are on track for an unprecedented haul of four trophies this season. Liverpool are second in the Premier League, trailing leaders Manchester City by a point, and have also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Eyes on FA Cup?
Klopp added his team selection would not be made with one eye on Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against City, with whom they drew 2-2 in the league on Sunday.
“The next game has no influence on the line up for tomorrow but the last game has so we have to see,” Klopp said.
“There is nobody injured as far as I know but we need to look at who is fresh enough for this game. We see it as a super important game to us. We tried so hard last year to qualify for the Champions League and now we can make it to semis, which is incredible.”
Klopp said the game would be as tricky as their last-16 second leg against Inter Milan, when they lost 1-0 after a 2-0 win in the first leg. A good basis (3-1 lead). But if they score one, like we felt against Inter, the game changes,” Klopp said.
“We felt it when they scored last week. We really need to make them feel this is a place they don’t want to go.”