At 4:00 a.m. Beijing time on March 16, 2022, the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 knockout round, the Red Devils Manchester United will face the sheets army at home at Atletico. Manchester United's performance this season is more tortuous, the first half of the league results are very unsatisfactory, can only use the change of coach to alleviate the pressure of the team, after Ronnick took over, the team ushered in a wave of rebound, but the team also reported a locker room crisis, and even there is news that lonnick and C Ronaldo will be at odds. Manchester United are currently in 50th place in the league with 50 points, although it is only a one-point gap from Arsenal in the top 4 (Champions League zone), but it should be noted that the team currently has three more rounds than the Gunners, and in the few remaining fixtures, the impact on Champions League qualification may not be optimistic.
Since United entered February, too many draws have been the main reason for the team's points losses, including against teams such as Burnley, Southampton and Watford, where the Red Devils all ended in draws. After the "Manchester City Derby", although the last round of the league won 3-2 with Ronaldo's hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur, but also saw the shortcomings of the back line, defender Maguire gifted the opponent a big gift package, Fred sent the opponent a penalty opportunity, which shows that there are still huge hidden dangers in its defense. In addition, in the Champions League knockout rounds, the first leg was tied with Atletico Madrid 1-1, and the second leg returned to the home game, with the team's current offensive and defensive performance, whether it can advance is debatable.
In a pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Ronnick also spoke about their Champions League opponents Atletico, saying, "It's important not to concede the ball first, especially against a team like Atletico, who doesn't mind the opponent taking possession of the ball. In the last four or five games they haven't had a possession rate of 50% and we're aware of that and we want to concede as little as possible. At the same time, it is also important for us to score a goal first. ”
Atletico was the winner of La Liga last season, and this season on the basis of the original lineup, Griezmann was dug back from Barca, but the results were not ideal, 28 rounds of league scored 51 points, ranking 4th in the league, and the leader Real Madrid has a gap of 15 points, it can be seen that the road to the defense of the Sheets Army is basically hopeless, and the Real Betis and Real Sociedad only 2-4 points higher than behind them, it can be seen that the pursuit is still very threatening.
Atletico's recent pick-up in form has been three consecutive wins since the first leg of the Champions League with Manchester United, winning three consecutive victories over Celta, Real Betis and Cadiz, during which time the main strikers Griezmann and Suarez have been in a dud, while Felix has scored in two consecutive games, even in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, Felix helped the team score. In the pre-match press conference, coach Simeone also praised Felix's recent performance, Simeone said, "He is meeting the needs of the team, we will start to intercept from the forward, he is in very good form, very motivated and happy." ”
Judging from the recent situation of both sides, although Manchester United has returned to the winning track, its backline hidden dangers have still not been eliminated; while Atletico Madrid have recently recovered in form, winning 3 consecutive wins, and in terms of squad strength, there is not much difference with the Red Devils. Judging from the current attitude of all parties, the performance is decent and does not give a clear tendency, but combined with the strength of both sides, this battle cannot rule out the possibility of overtime or penalty shootout.