Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone expects Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Manchester United to be a “classic type of match you expect in a game like this”.
The Red Devils escaped with a 1-1 draw when the sides met in the round of 16 first leg, with teenager Anthony Elanga saving the visitors on a night when Los Colchoneros dominated for the most part.
The abolition of away goals means that there is nothing splitting these sides heading into a return fixture that Atleti boss Simeone believes will be a blood and thunder encounter at Old Trafford.
“The characteristics of the footballers that Manchester United have and our players and the way we both play I imagine it will be a dynamic game, a game where there will be alternative moments,” the former Argentina international said.
“We’ll press high. It will be the classic type of match you expect in a game like this, the vertigo you suffer sometimes when a team plays at home.
“I think we have the opportunity to hit on the counter to capitalise on any errors they make.
“The season we’ve had it’s one of the most complex seasons we’ve been going through but we try to find an alternative and find solutions. Tomorrow I’m sure we’ll have to find solutions and resolve things.”
Atleti won LaLiga last season but have long been out of the title race, even if their recent four-game winning run has propelled them up to fourth.
They beat Cadiz 2-1 on Friday night and have the potential to knock United out at Old Trafford, thanks to a mixture of talent and wily Simeone’s approach.
“In football it’s all opinions,” he said. “I think coaches always try to generate what they can with what players they have.
“In these 10 years we’ve found a path that has given us results and we try to generate and manage and stimulate these players we’ve got.
“We’ll have to resolve the match and what happens through the game. I think it’s clear with the players they have and we have it can vary depending on what happens in the game, they can hit on the break as well.
“It’s not just us waiting to break, perhaps they’ll have long periods of having the ball, we’ll have a dynamic game in a fantastic ground.”
