Experts preview United v Atletico

Our much-loved matchday programme asked pundits about Atletico’s struggles so far this season, how legendary manager Diego Simeone has adapted his tactics recently, and how Cristiano Ronaldo could continue his brilliant record against Los Colchoneros.

Tuesday night’s edition includes an exclusive interview with Raphael Varane, Ralf Rangnick’s matchday column, the thoughts of 1968 European Cup winner Paddy Crerand, and ex-Red and Atleti star Quinton Fortune, as well as a deep dive into other youngsters who have made their mark on the European stage after Anthony Elanga’s goal in Madrid three weeks ago. You can also read an interview with lifelong Atleti fan and season ticket holder Juanjo Mendoza for the lowdown on the Wanda Metropolitano side.

You can order a copy of United Review here.

ATLETICO’S SEASON SO FAR

Semra Hunter, LaLigaTV presenter:

“Historically, when it came to Cholo Simeone, you knew exactly what you were going to get from him. It was always 4-4-2, defensive solidity, get a 1-0 lead and defend it to the death. I doubt there’s any manager with more 1-0 wins to their name than Diego Simeone. In some ways, they’ve become a victim of their own success. This summer, they assembled the best squad that the club has ever had. Hands down, in terms of quality, talent, depth, it’s the best they’ve had.

“They’ve become a more attacking side. When you look at the profile of the players they have, they’re more offensive and they have more flair. They’re not the rough-and-tumble players of the past like Gabi or Diego Godin. Those players don’t really exist at Atletico anymore, and that’s a problem for Simeone. He’s trying to find the right balance between maintaining that defensive solidity and taking advantage of the firepower he has in the squad, but it’s been up and down all season long. 

"Simeone rotated massively trying to find out what works. Even within games, he was changing things too often, two or three times again and it left players uncertain. There was even a point in December where he got together with some of the heavyweights within the dressing room and asked ‘what do we need to do? How do we fix this?’ This is Cholo Simeone! That never would have happened in the past. But the fans and club are happy with him and really supportive of the team. There’s no calls for him to go.”

Andy West, writer and commentator at LaLigaTV and BBC Sport:

“A lot of people thought they were the favourites going into the season, they’d just won the league and added to their squad in the summer. On paper, they looked stronger, but they’ve been so inconsistent, not just in the quality of their performances but in the way they play.

"They’re not the same team in terms of style, and a big part of that is that they’re not the same club either. Simeone has transformed the club from being a team that would be delighted to be fourth in La Liga, scraping Champions League, to now being a club that expects to compete and win major trophies. Financially they’ve obviously been transformed as well. They’re now capable of spending £100 million on a player like Joao Felix. And when you are that kind of club with that kind of expectation with the kind of player they now have, being a defensive, backs-to-the-wall, battling team doesn’t fit with the profile of the club.

"In the same period, they’ve moved to one of the best stadia in Europe, away from a ramshackle old stadium to this gleaming new stadium so the whole identity of the club has changed and, with that, Simeone is under pressure to change the identity of the team as well. You can tell he’s not comfortable with it.”

ATLETICO’S TACTICS

Terry Gibson, former United forward and Spanish football expert:

“This season they’ve conceded more goals than in any other season in La Liga under Simeone. They’ve still got 15 games to go! They lost at home to Levante on 16 February and I think that was the final straw. Levante are statistically the worst team to ever play in La Liga, so a line had to be drawn. The focus has been on defending and everything has looked better. That’s coincided with the fact that Luis Suarez and Koke are not playing, two players who maybe couldn’t get about the pitch as much as Atletico needed them to. Different players have come into midfield, and they look a more vibrant, dynamic team, it seems more familiar.

“The expectations of the last year or so has been ‘we’re Atletico Madrid, we’re as big as Real and Barcelona and we should be playing a similar type of football.’ But a line was drawn after the Levante defeat and especially in this game, Atletico have permission again to be the underdog. They can go back to fundamentals. I expect a 5-3-2 will be the set-up tonight. Yannick Carrasco being suspended is a big boost for United. Whether he would have played left-wing-back or higher up the pitch, he has serious quality. Without him, Simeone probably won’t have an attacking left-sided wing-back, it’ll be another defender instead, so that 5-3-2 will be a five-man defence, not a back-three with wing-backs really pushing high up. The back three is Atletico’s weakness, and that’s down to the individuals, partly. They can be got at. Atletico haven’t managed to have a settled back three this year. Kondogbia has played there quite a bit, but he’s a midfield player. In the first leg, he was in midfield and did very well. He played with Hector Herrera and Marcos Llorente and while Kondogbia sat, Llorente and Herrera got about the pitch, closing United down and playing box-to-box.

"But with Carrasco suspended and Sime Vrsaljko, the regular right-wing-back, a fitness doubt, Llorente may have to fill in in defence. He would be a big miss in midfield. He’s one of La Liga’s most dynamic players and he’ll do well at right-wing-back, but they’ll really miss him in that midfield three. It’s going to be a tight game and Carrasco being suspended and a couple of injuries would help United. One team will raise their performance and take advantage of any mistakes.”

THE ABSENCE OF AWAY GOALS

Andy Brassell, European football expert on talkSPORT, The Guardian and The Football Ramble:

"If the away goals rule was still in place, Anthony Elanga’s goal in Madrid really heavily weighs this tie in United’s favour, but that’s not the case anymore. There is a big difference between Atletico having to come to Old Trafford and there being a compulsion on them to make the game, and there not being that compulsion.

"Atletico of the past were the perfect away goals team. The more defensive Simeone sides – especially the first great one of 2014-16 – would go out early and then just sit on the lead, but I don’t think they’re capable of that now. For United, this second leg would have been much easier to manage if Atletico had to come out here and score. The removal of the away goals rule means they don’t and now, I feel it’s completely open and this tie is now so unpredictable.” 

To read the thoughts of Andy Mitten, Guillem Balague, Laurie Whitwell and more from Andy Brassell, Andy West, Terry Gibson and Semra Hunter, order your copy of United Review here.