AC Milan vs Atletico Madrid: Rossoneri look to recover in UCL
AC Milan will be looking to recover from an opening UCL loss when they welcome Atletico Madrid to the Stadio San Siro on Tuesday. The Rossoneri will also be eager for revenge as it was Los Rojiblancos who ended their Champions League dreams nearly eight years ago, during the 2013/2014 round of 16. That also marked the last time Milan would grace European club football’s top competition, and now, nearly a decade after floundering about in the wilderness, the Diavolo are finally back on the biggest stage.
Milan have started off their domestic campaign well, winning five of their first six games to currently sit in second spot in the table. They come into this game having secured consecutive league wins, with the most recent a hard-fought 2-1 win over Spezia. However, Stefano Pioli will still have to make do without two key players: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Tiemoue Bakayoko, both of whom are still out injured, and veteran striker Olivier Giroud may not be fit in time for this fixture, meaning that Croatian international Ante Rebic could again feature as the central forward. Yet it’s not all bad news – with Pioli being given a major boost with the return of both Simon Kjaer and Alessandro Florenzi to training. Naturally, fans will be hoping that Giroud, who has been quite impressive since arriving at the Stadio San Siro from Chelsea, will be fully recovered in time for this match.
The last time Atletico Madrid and Milan met, it was a resounding victory for Los Rojiblancos, who won both home and away by an aggregate score of 5-1. Diego Costa’s goal at the Stadio San Siro set things in motion, before Diego Simeone’s squad recorded a 4-1 win in Madrid to dump Milan out of the competition for good. The Rossoneri have historically struggled against Spanish opponents, with just one win in their last 17 games (seven draws, nine losses) and that sole win over a Spanish team was an impressive 2-0 result against Barcelona back in 2013.
Clean sheets are also another thing that have been quite elusive for the Rossoneri, as they’ve managed just one shutout in their past ten games – and all were in the Europa League. Indeed, this will be their first home game in the UCL since losing 1-0 to Atletico Madrid back in February 2014, and after losing 3-2 to Liverpool in their return to the Champions League, they will naturally be desperate for a better result this time around.
Meanwhile, Atletico, who notably won La Liga last season, at the moment, sit in fourth place after suffering their first defeat of the campaign. Simeone’s troops surprisingly were beaten 1-0 by relegation-threatened Deportivo at the weekend, and will also be looking to get back on track in the Champions League after a frustrating scoreless draw with Porto. Only once in Simeone’s reign have Atleti failed to win their opening two UCL ties – during the 2017/18 season when they drew Roma and lost 2-1 to Chelsea. Yet, their away record is a major concern. To date, the capital-based club have lost five of their last nine road games in this competition, while winning three. And they haven’t beaten Italian opponents on the road since their 1-0 win over Milan in February 2014; since then, they’ve gone four games not only without winning but also sans scoring a goal.
In terms of personnel, Simeone doesn’t have the injury concerns his tactical counterpart does. Thomas Lemar has returned to the team after an injury lay-off, and while he’s not expected to start, he’s still traveled with the group to Milan. In fact, the only key player out is defender Stefan Savic, who’s serving a long-term European ban from last season. It will be interesting to see if Antoine Griezmann features here, as the 2018 World Cup winner is presently Atleti’s all-time top goal-scorer in European competitions, with 21 goals, or if Simeone opts to mix things up in attack.
So, over seven years after their European dreams ended in heartbreak at the hands of Atleti, much has changed for Milan. Many managers have come and gone, with Pioli the latest to take over the reins of a team desperate to reclaim their spot among Europe’s elite. Will Milan get revenge on Atletico to restart their Champions League campaign? Or will Los Rojiblancos, returning to the Stadio San Siro for the first time in many years, and still led by the wily Simeone, again prove to be a thorn in their sides?
