Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid, UEFA Champions League second leg: Everything you need to know

Atletico will have to pull out a performance of the season to beat city rivals Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal

Madrid derby, Real vs Atletico, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, UEFA Champions League, Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Antoine Griezmann, Griezmann, Diego Simeone, Simeone, football, sports news, Indian Express

Real Madrid won the first leg of the Champions League semifinal by 3-0. (Source: AP)

Atletico Madrid host their city rivals Real Madrid in the second leg of the semifinal in the UEFA Champions League. Real dominated the first leg match as Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to give his side an edge. Defending champions Real travel to Atletico’s stadium Vicente Calderon on Wednesday night with a 3-0 home advantage. Zinedine Zidane will hope to lift the trophy again in less than 18 months as Real have a record of beating Atletico in the European competition.

Form guide

Both the Madrid teams come into the game with wins in La Liga. While third placed Atletico won their last game against Eibar with a Saul Niguez goal; Real kept the title fight alive with a 4-0 victory over Granada. James Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata scored a brace each but are, however, unlikely to start against Atletico Madrid.

Key players

For Real Madrid, all eyes will be on Ronaldo, the only scorer in the first leg. This was after he came to Real Madrid’s rescue in the quarterfinals against Bayern Munich. Another key players for Los Blancos remains Sergio Ramos and Marcelo to put up a strong defense.

Story continues below this ad

For Atletico, the focus will be on Antoine Griezmann, who has been on fire and contributed significantly in the last season. Griezmann will seek to give it all to take his side to the final amidst rumours linking him to Manchester United.

Previous battle

Zidane’s men dominated throughout the first leg at home to maintain superiority over rivals Atletico. Deigo Simeone was left helpless as Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to give his side an important advantage. Atletico on the other hand had only one shot at target and would need to pull-off the performance of the season if they expect to reach the final of the European competition.

Possible starting XI

Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Gimenez, Godin, Savic, Luis, Gaitan, Niguez, Gabi, Koke, Griezmann

Real Madrid: Navas, Nacho, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, Kroos, Casemiro, Modric, Isco, Benzema, Ronaldo.