UEFA CL Semi-final-Spanish City Rivals Lock Horns for Final Ticket
The prize of another final and the occasion of the last ever European game at the Vicente Calderón is not enough to daunt Real Madrid. “This club loves these situations,” said coach Zinédine Zidane.
* Real Madrid 3-0 up on Atlético thanks to Ronaldo's first-leg hat-trick
* No side have ever recovered from two-goal defeat in semis
* Atlético lost all four previous European ties against Madrid, including 2014 and 2016finals
* This is the last European game at Atlético's Vicente Calderón
* Winners play Juventus or Monaco in Cardiff final on Saturday 3 June
Possible line-ups Atlético: Oblak; Juanfran, Godín, Savi?, Filipe Luís; Koke, Gabi, Ñíguez, Carrasco; Griezmann, Gameiro. Out: Fernández (knee) Doubt: Vrsaljko (knee), Juanfran (match fitness), Giménez (match fitness)
Real Madrid: Navas; Nacho, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Modri?; Isco, Benzema, Ronaldo.
Out: Carvajal (hamstring), Bale (calf)
Diego Simeone, Atlético coach We believe in ourselves and our weapons. We won't change for this game. We know what we're capable of. I have full confidence in my players and I'm sure we'll do things well. We'll defend well, go from minute to minute and look to create chances. The Madrid squad might well be the best in the world, alongside Barcelona and Bayern.
We're fighting at a stage where we're proud to be: the semis of the Champions League. The only side that haven't been able to rest players in the league beforehand is us. We have our weapons, we'll try to do something that's going to be very difficult but we won't give up until the ref blows the final whistle.
Zinédine Zidane, Real Madrid coach Atlético will try to stop us doing our thing – that's their game. We'll try to continue doing what we do, the thing that's brought us here. Nothing will change in that sense. It's the business end of the season where everything is up from grabs, and this club loves to be in these situations. Every game is a final and tomorrow is one. We're going to play our game – we can't do anything else.
This club's history is something you can't shy away from; on the contrary, it helps us prepare for big occasions. We and our fans know this is a big club but then we have to show it too.
Our Views- It is a big task for Simeone's side: they need three unanswered goals against a Real Madrid outfit that have scored in 60 consecutive games just to take it to extra time. Undoubtedly, the visitors are in the driving seat, and were able to rest a lot of their starters at the weekend, too. Yet maybe, just maybe, in the final European game at the Vicente Calderón, Atlético can pull off something very, very special.
Did you know? Atlético are unbeaten in the home legs of all five of their European Cup semi-finals (W4 D1) and have never conceded a home goal. Simeone's team have won 29 of their last 35 European fixtures at the Vicente Calderón, losing only twice. They are ten matches unbeaten at home in Europe (W8 D2); this term they have won four of their five home games. Find out more in our extensive match background.
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