Two philosophies of football will collide tonight (22.00) at Wanda Metropolitano. Manchester City travel with a one-goal advantage (1-0) to Madrid to face the Spanish champions Atletico in the return match of the quarterfinals of the Champions League. The winner of this duel will battle it out with Real Madrid, which eliminated last season’s winner of the Ol’ Big Ears – Chelsea – after overtime drama on Tuesday night. Villarreal are probably awaiting Liverpool, who are defending Lisbon’s 3-1 against Benfica at Anfield.Diego Simeone knew very well what awaited him in the quarterfinals from the moment they drew Manchester City from the ‘hat’. He was aware that his team, which is far from intimate with the possession of the ball – will have their troubles with the champion of England.Therefore, few were surprised by Simeone’s 5-5-0 formation at the Etihad. It didn’t help him because Phil Foden found his way to assist Kevin de Bruyne to score even with such a tight block of the Spanish side.”On this stadium, 0-1 is not a bad result at all,” Atletico defender Stefan Savić admitted after the match, aware of City’s power. “When they come to Madrid, it will be quite different,” warned former Cityzen from Montenegro.Benzema’s header in overtime saves Real in the best CL game this seasonA brave thing to say, though without cover. Wanda Metropolitano has not been a fortress of fortune for Atletico lately. The Madrid club has not won any of the previous six games at home in the Champions League. Also, during the last weekend, a defeat from Mallorca came like a bucket of cold water, which moved Los Colchoneros away from the second position in La Liga.City did not do well on the road in the group stage, they lost to Paris Saint-Germain and Leipzig, but since the defeat in Germany they have not suffered a loss in any of 12 consecutive away games in all competitions. The draw (2-2) in the ‘match of the season’ against Liverpool for the weekend in which they managed to defend the leading position in the Premier League – came to Guardiola’s team as a boost of additional self-confidence before the rematch. All four previous clashes between Guardiola and Simeone – three won by a Spanish expert – ended in a minimal victory for one of the teams.##EDITORS_CHOICE##The strategist of the Spanish champions will now have to change his strategy. Parking “two buses” is not an option now, although it will be difficult for Simeone to attack the Citizens from the opening whistle. Guardiola’s team will probably have more possession of the ball but Atletico can draw self-esteem from the fact that they have already knocked out one team from Manchester from the competition. Now, Los Colchoners will have to chase the advantage of the rival, but the champion of England do not hold too much capital as they are only one goal ahead.City manager cannot count on the suspended Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus. A “fake nine” could be Algerian Riyad Mahrez, and the African will most probably be assisted by Jack Grealish and Foden.The Spanish expert revealed that defender Ruben Dias has returned to training and that he traveled with the team to Madrid. The Portuguese has been out of action since the beginning of March due to a muscle injury. We’ll see if Guardiola takes a risk with the diligent leader of the defense.”Dias is traveling with us. He has one training session and six weeks of rest, I don’t know yet if he will play. The others are ready. We have a tight schedule until the end of the season. All players are important to us “, Guardiola remained mysterious.Bayern ist raus: Villarreal stun Allianz Arena with their only shot on targetThe Manchester City coach expects a different game than the one seven days ago at the Etihad.”We are traveling with a good result, with the intention of winning. They play differently at home. They will have the support of the fans, they will be aggressive and they will create problems for us “, the former coach of Barcelona and Bayern said cautiously.Simeone was criticized for the way his team was playing in the first match. Goalkeeper Ederson did not even have a chance to ‘participate’ in the match. Not only did he not have to defend a single shot, but the guests from Madrid never sent a shot towards the goal. Legendary expert Arrigo Sacchi and once the best striker in the world Marco van Basten ‘condemned’ the Argentine, but he is not affected. He sticks to the Machiavellian approach – the end justifies the means.”I have been a coach since 2005 and I have never despised the work of colleagues or talked badly about them. I always try to get into the shoes of other coaches and there are different ways to express what you think. Everyone can talk, express their opinion, but I do not speak bad about colleagues. I always respect them “, said Cholo Simeone.Atletico Madrid’s XI against Man City tonight pic.twitter.com/6zFAPDC2FS— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) April 5, 2022 Atletico has reached the semifinals of the biggest European club competition on six occasions in history. Of those six matches, three semifinals were won by Diego Simeone, but all three were played at the old Vicente Calderon Stadium. Now the people of Madrid want the curse to be lifted off the Wanda Metropolitano. The Argentine expert will not be able to count on the injured Jimenez and Herrera. The tandem of Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann is expected in the attack. Uruguayan Luis Suarez, who will probably leave Atletico in June, will be the ‘joker card’ from the bench. The veteran is not in form in 2022.Spanish Marca announces that Thomas Lemar could be the surprise in the middle of the pitch. The Frenchman should form a midfield wall with Koke and Kondogbia. Lemar is often injured, he has had as many as five absences in the last year, so he is still looking for his form.KDB since joining City:Chelsea ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️🅰️Arsenal ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️🅰️🅰️Spurs ⚽️⚽️⚽️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️Man Utd ⚽️⚽️⚽️🅰️Liverpool ⚽️⚽️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️PSG ⚽️⚽️⚽️Real Madrid ⚽️🅰️Barcelona ⚽️Atletico Madrid ⚽️UCL Knockouts ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️BIG GAME PLAYER. pic.twitter.com/EJCINUN6nh— JJ (@theskybluesss) April 5, 2022 In the absence of the Uruguayan Jimenez – Savic, Felipe and Reinildo will be the last line of defense, Marcos Llorente will be on the right side, while Lodi got the advantage over the Belgian Yannick Carasco.”We are facing a team that is playing very well. They have a good rhythm, they are great in transition, they use a small space in the best way. We will not deviate too much from what we normally do. I hope that we will pass better, use the space for a counterattack and that our attackers will have a fantastic night. City plays in the same way regardless of the name of the rival. They have an installed and accepted philosophy. They have great players and a great coach, so I can’t think it will be any different.”Pressing, fast transition and what we can do will be the only thing that matters,” the Atletico coach concluded.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUEQuarter-final, second legTuesdayReal Madrid – Chelsea 2-3 (0-1) /first leg 3-1//Mount 15, Ruddiger 51, Werner 75 – Rodrygo 80, Benzema 96/Bayern – Villareal 1-1 (0-0) /first leg 0-1//Lewandowski 52 – Chukwueze 88/Wednesday22.00: (5.00) Atl.Madrid (3.50) Man.City (1.85) /first leg 0-1/22.00: (1.30) Liverpool (6.25) Benfica (10.0) /first leg 3-1/***odds are subject to change
