Real’s depth keeps double hopes alive
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Zidane’s team in running for La Liga and European top honours as city rivals Atletico come knocking in semifinal first leg
Real Madrid welcome Atletico Madrid for the first leg of their Champions League semifinal hoping to do something that has been beyond the reigning 11-time European champions for six decades.
Alfredo Di Stefano, not Cristiano Ronaldo, was Madrid’s star man the last time Los Blancos won La Liga and Europe’s top club prize in the same season.
The eight times Real have been crowned champions of Europe since they have always done so happy to sacrifice La Liga for the tournament they see as defining their role as the biggest and best club in the world.
Even this season the lure of becoming the first side to defend the Champions League has edged out that of ending Barcelona’s dominance of La Liga.
That has been evidenced by coach Zinedine Zidane’s line-ups for a string of recent Liga games sandwiched between big European ties.
None of Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric or Toni Kroos started any of Madrid’s last three away games.
In their absence the likes of Isco, Alvaro Morata and Marco Asensio have shone and Madrid won all three games, scoring 13 times in the process.
Real have already played 53 games this season across five competitions and even two continents after travelling to Japan for the Club World Cup.
Yet they remain on course for the most successful season in the club’s storied recent history thanks to the depth of their resources.
Atletico’s back line has been depleted because of a series of injuries and coach Diego Simeone will have to improvise for the semifinal first leg.
Simeone won’t be able to count on key defensive players such as Jose Gimenez and Juanfran Torres for the game at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, and they may not even recover in time for the second leg at the Vicente Calderon next week. Cristiano Ronaldo is peaking at the right time for Real Madrid as the season draws to a close. He was the star of the quarterfinal tie against Bayern Munich as he scored five goals over two legs. This the fourth consecutive season the Madrid derby has featured in the
Champions League. Real have had the upper hand so far, beating Atletico in the 2014 final, 2015 quarterfinal and 2016 final Real won Real have had a standout season. They won the Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup, and are still in the running for La Liga and the Champions League. They last won the Spanish league title in 2012, while they can be the first team in history to retain the Champions League in the tournament’s new format. They are unbeaten in Europe this season, winning seven and drawing three of their 10 games so far. Ronaldo will take the lead in attack but will be without the support of the injured Gareth Bale. Isco is likely to be Bale’s replacement with Benzema expected to retain his place.
Real are at full strength with Luka Modric in fine form and Casemiro providing stability. Modric boasted a 94% pass completion against Valencia in the weekend.
Real are more prone to concede goals than their city rivals with Keylor Navas letting in 1.28 goals per game. Los Blancos have only kept 10 clean sheets in 53 games in all competitions. Played
Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal are certain to start. Full-backs Marcelo and Carvajal pose attacking threats as well and combined they have assisted 21 goals this season. Drawn Atletico won Atletico have recovered from early disappointment this season to register improved performances and results. Manager Diego Simeone experimented with formations in the early months, hoping to inculcate more attacking play. After falling behind in the La Liga title race, Simeone reverted to Atletico’s tried-and-tested system. They are currently unbeaten in 11 games in all contests. November 20, 2016: Atletico Madrid 0-3 Real Madrid (La Liga)
April 8, 2017: Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid (La Liga) Griezmann remains Atletico’s biggest attacking threat. He will have the support of Kevin Gameiro in the 4-4-2 formation. The French duo has scored 41 goals for Atletico in all competitions.
Yannick Ferreira Carrasco isadoubt with a shoulder injury, though he did train on Sunday. Koke may be called upon to fill at right-back where Atletico face a shortage of players.
Injury to Jose Gimenez — with Juanfran and Sime Vrsaljko already unavailable — means Atletico have no recognisable full-back to deal with Ronaldo on the right wing. Stefan Savic or Koke may be asked to fill in the position.
Jan Oblak is far more trustworthy in goal having conceded 0.61 goals per game this term. Atletico have conceded just 39 goals in all competitions, 28 goals less than Real have let in this season. Antoine Griezmann is the focal point of Atletico's counterattacking style of play. He is the team’s top-scorer this season with 25 goals in all competitions. REAL MADRID V ATLETICO MADRID,
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