Manchester United and Atlético Madrid will have everything to play at Old Trafford this week after a funny 1-1 draw at Wanda Metropolitano in the Champions League round of 16 first leg. Manchester United will be looking to secure a place in the Champions League quarter-finals when they host Atlético Madrid at Old Trafford in the second leg of the round of 16 on Tuesday night. Manchester United was far from better in the first leg on 23 February with Atlético Madrid in charge for a long time. Still, teenager Anthony Elanga came off the bench to score in the 80th minute, meaning any Red Devils win on Tuesday in the evening will see them reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Manchester United have won seven of the previous 11 quarterfinals, but this will be their first encounter with Atletico Madrid in England since November 1991, when both teams drew 1-1 in the second round of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Manchester United will be delighted to score at Old Trafford, but football pundits feel that the hosts will do enough to win in 90 minutes and reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Since the first leg ended in a draw, the team that wins the second leg will book a ticket for the quarter-finals. This is one of the most exciting rounds of 16 draws we have seen this season, as the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw in Spain. Bayern, Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid reached the quarter-finals last week. Manchester United was looking to emulate the other three English teams remaining in the Champions League by securing a first-leg lead. Ralf Rangnick said on the eve of a trip to Madrid that he prioritises the Champions League. Although Cristiano Ronaldo had to miss several training sessions and the Premier League match against Manchester City, he will be fit enough to play on Tuesday. However, you can be sure that Cristiano Ronaldo will be highly motivated on Tuesday and the same goes for his teammates. On Saturday, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Tottenham in the Premier League to keep them closer to the fourth spot in the table. Ronaldo has an exemplary goalscoring record in the Champions League, scoring twice in 2017 against Juventus and scoring two decisive hat-tricks against Atlético Madrid.
After an exciting draw in the first face-to-face meeting between the two teams last month, we expect both teams to do their best to move on to the next stage of the tournament, which will not be easy. Manchester United play at Old Trafford, the home side will take advantage and try to build pressure on Atletico Madrid in the early stages. Overall it promises to be an entertaining game after witnessing Ronaldo’s Hattrick.
