Round of 16 Program and results
Live: Atlético v Chelsea (9pm)
When Atlético jumps onto the grass of the National Arena in Bucharest this Tuesday, at 10 pm in the Romanian capital, the thermometer will be one degree or another above zero and the thermal sensation, a little lower.
In the first contact, this Monday, the rojiblancos already had an aperitif of what the game will be.
Chelsea did not even drop.
With a six-hour flight from London, he decided to complete the session at his Cobham facility and spend the rest of the day arriving in Romania.
The restrictions on the British team have forced the scene of the first round of eighths to move 2,500 kilometers.
An unknown situation for Atlético, which nevertheless tries to convince itself that the Romanian venue is their home.
"We trust that
Luis Suárez
can score, we play at home. We'll see in London," replied
Diego Simeone
with a hint of humor.
"We don't have to waste energy where we have nothing to do with it. We have to go out onto the pitch to do it in the best possible way," answered
Stefan Savic
, on the lectern at the Bucharest stadium, under the watchful eye of his coach.
"We will train and play as if it were our home," completed the Argentine coach.
The traditional rebellious spirit of Cholo contrasted with the honesty of
Thomas Tuchel
, without embarrassment when admitting the "disadvantage" that Atlético must face.
"It goes without saying, it's obvious," stressed the Chelsea coach.
Seven matches fitting
In any case, Suárez lands in the Champions League after three games without seeing the door and without having made his debut in the top competition with Atlético.
But, also, with the shadow of those six years without marking at home.
Although tomorrow, as already happened when he made up Bayern 8-2 against Barça, in Lisbon, it does not count as a visit.
The four hours of flight are part of the benefits of the pandemic.
In Bucharest there are neither
Giménez
nor
Carrasco
nor
Vrsaljko
(injured).
Nor
Trippier
, who has a week left to serve his penalty for the famous bets.
And
Héctor Herrera is
waiting to overcome the coronavirus.
So, Simeone will have to restructure, above all, his defense.
The normal thing is that
Llorente
returns to the right flank.
"Marcos gives us a lot everywhere, although I am the first to appreciate that he gives us a lot at the top," said Simeone.
And since the important thing in these cases is, above all, not to fit in, because Bucharest is the home of Atlético, the focus points, among others, to Savic, who will be one of the three centrals along with
Felipe
and
Mario Hermoso
.
The rojiblancos have conceded consecutively in their last seven games.
"We have to improve the defensive phase because we are conceding goals in these last games. It is not just a matter of those behind," pointed out the Balkan defender, who knows, for example,
Marcos Alonso
from his time at Fiorentina.
Improvement with Tuchel
Ahead will be a Chelsea that has regained its strength and aura lost with the arrival of Tuchel.
"His numbers have improved a lot with him," agreed Simeone.
And it is that the British team has signed four wins and two draws in the last six Premier League games.
All with the German technician at the controls.
In the reverse situation, Atlético, which has lost in just two weeks the same as in the entire first round of the League (two draws and one defeat).
Koke
traveled to Bucharest
as a kid, on that night in 2012, where he barely had a few remaining minutes.
On Tuesday, apart from the captain, he will be the helm of the team against a dangerous Chelsea who has been measured several times in this era.
In fact, the last one at home, with that goal added by
Michy Batshuayi
, was the first defeat at the Metropolitano (1-2).
Serve as a warning.
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