Simeone y el desafío de seguir a su «Bestia Negra» en la Champions

The Atlético de Madrid will host Real Madrid on Wednesday (21:00) in the Derbi, for the 16th round of the Champions League, with the obligation to overcome the 2-1 advantage in favor of the whites from the first leg to eliminate Carlo Ancelotti’s team, who has never made it past this stage in Europe, the ultimate goal he has returned to in this competition.

Real Madrid secured a slight advantage last Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabéu, in a match that left the feeling that Atlético did not capitalize on their best moments during the game. Ancelotti’s side will head to the Wanda Metropolitano with a significant advantage, perhaps greater than justified by their football proposal in the first leg.

Now, the «Cholo» team faces the difficult and seemingly impossible task of overcoming their «Black Beast» in the top continental club competition, a competition where Real Madrid reigns supreme with 15 Champions League titles. Atlético has fallen in the last five encounters against their city rivals, including two finals (2014 and 2016) and two knockout rounds (2014-2015 quarterfinals and 2016-2017 semifinals) with Simeone at the helm.

In their first encounters, the Rojiblancos suffered for almost 180 minutes until the 88th minute of their return leg at the Bernabéu, when Mexican striker ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez scored the decisive goal for Real Madrid. They came close to upsetting Real Madrid two seasons later, but were halted by a strong first half performance by Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a devastating hat-trick. However, Atletico Madrid started brightly in their home leg at the Vicente Calderón, taking a 2-0 lead within 16 minutes through goals from Saul Niguez and Antoine Griezmann, before a Karim Benzema strike and an ISCO goal brought the score to 2-1 before halftime. This remains Simeone’s only victory over Real Madrid in 90 minutes in European competition.

Simeone has long been a master of these two-legged knockout ties and has rarely faced a comeback scenario with a deficit in the Champions League. When playing the second leg at home, Atletico Madrid has been involved in four encounters where they were behind by a goal after the first leg, and only once did they progress without the need for penalties.

One memorable comeback was against FC Barcelona in the 2015-2016 quarterfinals, where goals counted double away from home. Atletico produced a magical night at Camp Nou, with Fernando Torres scoring in the 25th minute before receiving a red card 10 minutes later. Despite Barça’s response with two goals from Luis Suarez, Atletico roared back at the Vicente Calderón with Antoine Griezmann’s brace, securing a 2-0 victory and a place in the semifinals.

Atletico also had to rely on penalties in two other encounters to progress. In the 2014-2015 round of 16, they visited Bayer Leverkusen and returned with a 1-0 deficit after a Hakan Calhanoglu goal and a late Tiago red card. The return leg saw Jan Oblak shine in goal, as the match was decided by penalties, with Atletico prevailing despite misses from Raul Garcia and Koke.

In the following season, Atletico faced Inter Milan in the round of 16, where they overturned a 1-0 deficit with goals from Griezmann and Memphis Depay, eventually winning on penalties after a crucial miss from Lautaro Martinez.

However, their luck ran out against Manchester City in the 2021-2022 quarterfinals. After a cautious first leg where Atletico barely threatened, they came alive at the Metropolitano but fell 1-0. In the return leg, they pushed for a comeback but were unable to break down City’s defense, ultimately exiting the competition.

Beyond these home leg comebacks, Atletico failed to overturn a deficit against Chelsea in the 2020-2021 round of 16, playing their home leg in Bucharest due to pandemic restrictions. Chelsea won 1-0 in the first leg and sealed the tie with a 2-0 victory in London. In the Copa del Rey last season, Atletico also fell 1-0 in the first leg of the semifinals against Athletic Club, failing to overturn the deficit in a 3-0 loss at San Mames.

This recent history of European and Copa del Rey comebacks under similar circumstances to the upcoming match highlights the challenge Atletico face in overcoming their rivals, who have bested them in three previous encounters.

FUENTE