Pep Guardiola has pinpointed the great quality that makes Atletico Madrid difficult opponents for Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-final. The reigning champions of England and Spain will meet in just over a fortnight, with a semi-final tie against either Chelsea or Real Madrid the prize for the winner.
The Blues will face Atletico over two legs in the space of eight days, the first meeting being at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday April 5 and the return at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid on Wednesday April 13.
The two clubs have never met before, despite both being regulars in European competition for the past 12 years and while City are top of the Premier League and in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Atletico’s season has not gone as smoothly. The reigning Spanish champions lie fourth in the table, 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid, and lost at home to AC Milan and Porto in the group stages of the Champions League.
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They qualified for the last eight by drawing 1-1 at home to Manchester United and then winning 1-0 in the Old Trafford return.
But Guardiola says the greatest strength of Atletico, who are always happy to sit and defend under coach Diego Simeone, is that they are capable of playing their own game while negating any advantages of the opposition.
“They went through an incredibly tough group stage and in the games against United over 180 minutes they were better - the game in Madrid they had a fantastic first half. It is a team, they are what they are.
“They are able to avoid who you are, their biggest quality, for the way you play you try to impose your game but it's difficult. Second leg away (makes it) more complicated. But the best eight teams in Europe, all are difficult.”
Guardiola agreed that Atletico have become a reflection of their manager's philosophy, and says that make them powerful as a team, and as a club: "When this happens you have an incredible achievement as a club, institution.
"That club, Simeone won't be sacked, all the players know who is the manager. If it doesn't work, no manager can sustain a team like Atletico. He will be replaced but everybody knows what is their path and what they have to do. They are incredibly consistent in the last year."
The tie is already being portrayed as a tussle between a City team who like possession and control, against an Atletico side happy to sit and defend, and strike on the counter-attack.
But Guardiola dismissed the notion, saying: "I don't understand his matches because I wasn't in his training. If he likes to not concede goals, I like more than him.
"If he wants to win games, I like more. I like counter-attacks more than him. I like a lot of things, would like to do what they are able to do. All teams concede few goals, few chances.
"We try to do it with the ball, they are sometimes a bit deeper. The first 15 to 20 minutes against United, United couldn't breathe. After they used their quality.
"The second leg they (Atletico) defended but with Griezmann, Carrasco, Felix, Lodi, Llorente, Koke they can use the counter-attack, they are doing that for many years. They reached the final of the Champions League (in 2016), and for one moment didn't win it.
"I'm not saying there is a comparison, they play to win and we do. We try, knowing it will be difficult to impose our game against them. We have to be clever, we know they will have it, have the chances to score.
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"It doesn't matter if we play another opponent, it would be difficult too. We go a nice stadium, incredible stadium and we go to try and reach the semi-final, hopefully they are worried to play against us."
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