The Champions League knock-out stage is one of the best times to be a soccer fan. The best clubs in the world are competing for the coveted Champions League trophy. It is truly a place where legends are made. One of these legends, Cristiano Ronaldo, will feature in a Wednesday-night classic between his Manchester United and Atletico Madrid. This is one of the best games on offering in the Round of 16, so here are two bold predictions for Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United.

Predictions for Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United 

Cristiano Ronaldo will score against Atletico Madrid…again 

There is no better love story in soccer than Cristiano Ronaldo and scoring against Atletico Madrid. The Portuguese phenom played a ton of games against the less famous Madrid club in his career. As a part of Real Madrid and Juventus, Ronaldo played 35 games against Atleti, scoring 25 goals. Obviously, most of these came during his Real Madrid career. He scored many hat tricks against the Madrid outfit and had some truly iconic moments playing against them.

His most famous moments came in the Champions League. He famously scored to make it 4-1 in the 2014 Champions League final, scored the final penalty in the 2016 final shootout, and scored a hat trick in the first leg of the 2017 Champions League semifinals, propelling his Real Madrid to the first repeat in the modern history of the Champions League. Not to be outdone by his Real Madrid achievements, Ronaldo also scored a hat trick against Atletico in the 2019 Round of 16 stages of the Champions League playing for Juventus, propelling an unlikely comeback from 2-0 down in the first game. Now, back in Manchester United, Ronaldo will look to continue his mesmerizing run against Atletico Madrid.

Now, this time will be fairly difficult to score, simply due to circumstances. While Atleti is also not in the greatest of forms, Ronaldo's Real Madrid and Juventus teams were miles ahead of this Manchester United squad. As mentioned above, the Real Madrid teams Ronaldo was part of scored in bunches and won the Champions League three times in a row, a feat unmatched by any team since the rebranding of the competition in 1992. Juventus never made it past the quarterfinals with Ronaldo, but was still an incredible team and was a favorite to win the competition. This United squad feels underwhelming and too distracted by problems in and outside of the field.

Also, a thing to consider would be Ronaldo's form. Right now, the Manchester United legend is probably having his worst season in recent memory. He only bagged nine goals this season in the Premier League and, while he has been better in the Champions League, it is still not the Ronaldo we have come to expect in the last few years. However, there is just something about that Wednesday night, Champions League magic that Ronaldo can simply garner and use to his advantage. It would be ungrateful to say that this performance will be on par with hat tricks for two different teams in his last two Champions League bouts with Atletico Madrid, but it will definitely be at least one goal for the Portuguese legend.

Both teams will give us an underwhelming game

If Ronaldo was not part of Manchester United, even with the weight brought on by both teams, it is unlikely that this battle would get a ton of attention. Of course, it is still one of England's best teams playing against a major Spanish outfit, but due to how this season has gone for both teams, it is very tough to expect fireworks. Atletico Madrid and Manchester United were both supposed to be fighting for titles this season, but it seems like they will both end the season empty-handed, at least in terms of the major competitions their fans really care about.

Starting with Atletico Madrid, their campaign started fairly well. After 15 games in the Spanish League, they only had one loss and had some great moments and last-minute winners. In the Champions League, it was not easy, but they pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a 3-1 win away from home to secure a second place in the toughest group in the group stage. However, coming into this game, they only have four wins in their last 11 league games, they are out of the Spanish Cup, and they got embarrassed 4-2 by a very young Barcelona team. They are 15 points behind league leaders Real Madrid and generally play very poorly this season, even after the great start they had. If they do not win against Manchester United, their coach Diego Simeone might be fired by the end of the season.

Not to be outdone by their Spanish opposition, Manchester United is having a horrible domestic campaign. Although they managed to steady the ship with just one loss in their last 14 games, their matches feel sluggish and they do not play convincing football. They dropped points to Burnley, Southampton, Newcastle, Wolverhampton, and Aston Villa in the last few weeks alone and they are 17 points behind league leaders and crosstown rivals Manchester City. In the Champions League, they scraped past their group due to the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo as he provided two game-winners and one game-tying goal in the group stage. Of course, with him there against Atletico Madrid, everything is possible, but the squad will definitely struggle, even if they go past the current Spanish champions.

All in all, both Manchester United and Atletico Madrid will definitely give us a game, but it will not be one of beauty or flair. It will be a tough game, with two coaches that put a lot of emphasis on tactics and getting the correct result at the end. It could be a game of one goal deciding the entire tie, so apart from a possible Cristiano Ronaldo magic Champions League moment, the game will be rough to watch.