Manchester United have been drawn against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League round-of-16.
It will be a brilliant trip for Reds travelling to Madrid, which is always a bonus, but it also promises to be a real tactical battle with a mixture of football styles demonstrated by Diego Simeone and Ralf Rangnick.
The draw earlier this afternoon caused controversy when an embarrassing error on UEFA’s behalf saw United pulled out of the pot to face Villarreal, despite already facing them twice in the group stages, and as a result we drew Paris Saint-Germain.
At that moment in time, I was thinking UEFA could just go and do one – but at least they amended their mistake by doing a redraw at 2pm.
To give a quick recap of the draw itself:
- RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich
- Sporting Lisbon vs *Man City
- Benfica vs Ajax
- Chelsea vs Lille
- Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United
- Villarreal vs Juventus
- Inter Milan vs *Liverpool
- PSG vs Real Madrid
We can be happy with that draw, although we face a real battle against Atletico Madrid. Of course, the away goal rule no longer exists, so it will be intriguing to see how that change will shape games throughout the competition.
I fancy our chances (I usually do!) and by the time that game comes around we’ll be better adjusted to Rangnick’s style of play. To see it up against Simeone’s Atleti will be a real test – but let’s not forget how Liverpool managed to beat them twice in the group stages.
It bodes well that Atleti are positioned 4th in La Liga – behind Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Betis. AC Milan managed to beat them 1-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano, too.
Luis Suarez is sure to get a *warm* reception at Old Trafford, too.
Elsewhere, Man City squeezed out another easy draw and it’s nice to see PSG get Real Madrid in the earlier rounds.
We’re getting absolutely hammered unfortunately, miles behind the top teams 🙁