Previews
MAR 03.05.2016
There's now just one remaining hurdle for Atletico Madrid to overcome in their quest to claim a place in the Champions League final. Atletico take a 1-0 first-leg advantage with them to the Allianz Arena after Saul Ñiguez's goal at the Vicente Calderon was enough to put the Rojiblancos into the driving seat. Diego Simeone's side head to Germany dreaming of another European showdown appearance, two years on from their last Champions League final.
Standing in their way are a Bayern Munich side who have reached the last five Champions League semi-finals. On the latest two occasions the Bavarians have been knocked out at this stage by LaLiga opposition. Last season saw the German outfit bow out to FC Barcelona, after an aggregate 5-3 defeat. Whilst in the 2013/14 campaign, Real Madrid got the better of Bayern, as the Blancos ran out 5-0 winners over the two legs. Coming into this clash, coach Pep Guardiola is without Holger Badstuber, Arjen Robben and Sebastian Rode, but Jerome Boateng is back in contention. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Catalan coach sought to underline Atletico's strengths: "Playing against Atletico is tough. They don't give you any space. However, we'll be giving our all to try and find a way past their defence."
. @Simeone: "We are going to be true to our style. We will be ourselves." #FCBAtleti #GoAtleti #UCL pic.twitter.com/c5vOV4mhlp
— Atleti English (@atletienglish) May 2, 2016
The desire within the Rojiblancos' camp to reach the Milan showdown really couldn't be any greater. Atleti were Champions League finalists in 1974 and 2014, although lady luck deserted them on both occasions. Having reached the semi-final stage in two of the last three seasons, Simeone's men will be looking to make their 1-0 first-leg advantage count to seal their place in the Milan final. In terms of the Atletico team news, Simeone is without Tiago, although the visitors are boosted by the returns of Diego Godin and Yannick Carrasco, who both missed the first-leg clash. Ahead of the game, the Argentine coach has spoken about how his side will set up in Munich: "We'll remain faithful to our playing style and we'll just be ourselves."
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