We are witnessing a great Champions League season. After an exciting group stage, the thrilling action has continued in the round of 16. While the first game between Manchester United and Atletico Madrid was not great, it should be a different story now with higher stakes involved.
It was a 1-1 draw in their first game and without the away goal rule, which was scrapped last year, both clubs have everything to play for.
3 bold Manchester United vs. Atletico Madrid predictions
3. All is set up for some Cristiano Ronaldo Champions League magic
Most of Ronaldo's magic moments came in the Champions League. Whether it was for Manchester United or for Real Madrid, even for Juventus, he has made the competition his playground. He scored a hat-trick against Wolfsburg in 2016 to turn around a 2-0 deficit, he scored a brace in the 2017 final versus Juventus, and he scored two decisive hat-tricks against Atletico Madrid, the first in 2017 for Real Madrid and the second in 2018 for Juventus.
While he was mostly silent in their first game this season, all seems perfectly set up for his masterclass once again.
Ronaldo just scored three past Tottenham, propelling Manchester United to remain in the top four race in England. After saving some of their chances in the league, it is time to do the same in the Champions League. Realistically, his performance is the only thing that can save Manchester U from a terrible season. Right now, they are in fourth place but Arsenal has four games in hand and they will need some results to fall their way, while also remaining almost perfect until the end of the season to reach the top four. That is why, in the Champions League, Manchester United can't afford to falter, and they have no one else to rely on than CR7.
2. Atletico Madrid can save their season—but they won't
Atletico Madrid has been eliminated by a Ronaldo team in the Champions League in four out of the club's last seven appearances. Granted, it was never Manchester United that was eliminating them, but Ronaldo was there more times than not. It was only in their last two appearances that Atletico Madrid was eliminated by other teams. It is clear that Ronaldo haunts the squad but this time, they have an opportunity to finally eliminate him from the tournament and to turn around an abysmal season.
Sadly for Atletico Madrid fans, they will not do that. While Manchester United has had their fair share of struggles, Atletico Madrid is in a worse position. They are third in the league, that part is true, but that is mostly due to the lack of competitiveness in the La Liga contrary to the English Premier League. However, some of their wins were eked out by late goals and fumbles by their opponents. In the Champions League, they scraped by a tough group by winning in the ultimate game after three straight defeats. They are having a very bad season and all indicators say it will simply continue on Tuesday against Manchester United.
1. This game should be more exciting than the first leg
Whoever follows Atletico Madrid, especially under coach Diego Simeone, knows that the worst thing that can happen to the game is an early goal by Man U. In the first leg, that was made even more clear by Simeone employing four defensive-minded midfielders alongside four defenders. Unfortunately for football fans expecting excitement, Manchester United's Joao Felix converted on a header in the seventh minute and the game turned into a passing and fouling masterclass by both teams. It was only due to a defensive oversight that Manchester U's youngster Anthony Elanga converted that we even saw a second goal in the game.
Now, since he is five-foot-nine and generally not a great header of the ball, one should expect Felix not to score an early header once again. As the result is completely open, we should be witnessing a totally different game. Manchester United and Atletico Madrid are practically both playing for their season, so it should be a game of two sides fighting heavily to survive.
Without the away goal rule, it should be even more exciting, as even at a 2-1 deficit, for instance, for Manchester United, they would still be inclined to fight hard for their second goal and extra time. It will likely not be an instant classic like the Real Madrid versus PSG game was, but it should be an exciting one.
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