On Wednesday evening, the second participant of the 2016-17 season final of the UEFA Champions League will be revealed. Madrid's "Atletico" will try to recover at home after a painful loss against Madrid's "Real".
"Atletico" - "Real Madrid" Tournament: UEFA Champions League (semifinal) Stadium: "Vicente Calderon" (Madrid) Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey) Date and time: 2017-05-10, 21:45 The result of the first match in this dual Diego Simeone's team promises nothing good. The "Rojiblancos" will have to try hard to take away the ticket to the final from Madrid's "Real" club. Teams' results The first clash at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium ended in a surprisingly easy victory for the "white" team. Three goals by Cristiano Ronaldo secured a 3-0 win for the hosts, and "Atletico" left the field without even creating any dangerous opportunities. Nevertheless, D. Simeone is convinced that his team still has a chance to reach the final. According to the coach, nobody expects "Atletico" to triumph, but his team will do everything to create a miracle. Scoring three goals for the "Rojiblancos" team is entirely realistic, but not conceding a goal is crucial, as at least one of the opponent's goals means that "Atletico" will have to score five goals. After the failure in the Champions League semifinals, "Atletico" had difficult matches in the Spanish championship. D. Simeone's team defeated "Eibar" by 1-0, with Saul Niguez scoring the winning goal in the 69th minute. However, "Atletico" should not have much motivation to fight on the local front since they no longer have theoretical chances to compete for the title. Meanwhile, "Real," intensively battling for the championship title in Spain with "Barcelona," had an easy stroll against the league underdogs on the weekend. Zinedine Zidane allowed his leaders to rest, and the players who played less did not leave any hope for the "Granada" team with a 4-0 result. Teams' news "Atletico" received good news before these matches - Sime Vrsaljko, Juanfran, and Jose Gimenez are already training with the team. At least one of these players will surely play in the position of the right-back. Defensive midfielder Augusto Fernandez will not be able to help the team due to an injury. As for the "Real" team, they could not avoid a painful loss - Dani Carvajal, who was injured in the first semifinal match, will not be able to help the team. Gareth Bale is still recovering from his injury. Predicted starting lineups: "Atletico": Oblak; Juanfran, Godin, Savic, Filipe Luis; Koke, Gabi, Niguez, Carrasco; Griezmann, Gameiro. "Real Madrid": Navas; Nacho, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Isco, Benzema, Ronaldo. Coaches' thoughts The head coach of "Atletico" Diego Simeone: "We believe in ourselves and our abilities. We will not change anything in these matches because we know we are capable of defeating "Real". I have complete confidence in my players, and I know that we will succeed in these matches. We need to defend ourselves and look for opportunities to score goals. We know it won't be easy because "Real" is among the best teams on the planet, along with "Bayern" and "Barcelona". We are proud that we can compete at this stage. Half of our team had a break before these matches. We have weapons with which we can achieve something in these matches. It will be a very tough match, but we cannot give up until the final whistle." The head coach of "Real" Zinedine Zidane: "Atletico" will not let us play our usual football - that's their style. However, we will stick to the same game plan that brought us here. Nothing should change. We are now at the stage of the season where this club always wants to be - we are fighting for two main tournament trophies. Every match for us now is like a final. The history of this club is something we can't avoid and forget. I think it helps us prepare for such important matches. We and our fans know what a huge club this is, but we have to show it on the field."
