Madrid clubs face Champions League repesca after schoolboy errors
Real Madrid and Atlético must navigate the new 'play-in' round after poor group performances, with potential heavyweight clashes looming in the knockout stages.
Both Madrid giants have been sent to Champions League summer school after failing to make the grade in the league phase, facing tricky play-in ties that could make or break their European campaigns.
Madrid’s European headache
The sorteo has done neither club any favours. For Real Madrid, the theoretically weakest team in their potential quartet just won at the Metropolitano, while Benfica - who humiliated Los Blancos at Da Luz - could reappear on their horizon with Mourinho plotting another tactical masterclass against his former employers.
That defeat to Benfica was particularly galling, with Trubin’s goal in added time effectively sending Madrid to the naughty step of this new format. The Special One must be rubbing his hands at the prospect of another crack at the European champions.
Atleti’s Turkish or Belgian delight?
Simeone’s side aren’t having much better luck with their potential opponents. Both Club Brugge and Galatasaray represent banana skins for a team showing all the stability of a jelly in an earthquake:
- On paper, Atleti should be favourites
- But their form this season has been about as reliable as the Northern line on a Monday morning
- Wednesday’s defeat has only increased the murmurings around Cholo’s previously untouchable position
Tough road ahead
Even if both Madrid clubs navigate the play-in round (drawn today at 12:00 in Nyon), storm clouds gather on the horizon. Real could face Sporting Lisbon or - you guessed it - Manchester City in what would be the umpteenth edition of modern football’s most repeated Champions League fixture.
Meanwhile, the Premier League threatens Atlético too, with Liverpool or Tottenham potentially waiting in the last 16. It’s enough to make you reach for the dog and bone.
Schedule
There’s a small crumb of comfort for the Madrid sides - they’ll both play away in the first legs (February 17-18) with home advantage for the returns (February 24-25). Should they progress, the draw for the Round of 16, quarters and semis takes place on February 27.
After years of Spanish dominance in Europe, both Madrid clubs find themselves doing detention. The question is: will they learn their lesson?