Liverpool facing Atletico Madrid will be a great match for the neutral.
The two clubs will have almost certainly been looking to avoid each other in the next round of the Champions League, and it will be intriguing to see how Jurgen Klopp’s football matches up to that of Diego Simeone.
Atletico will have some confidence that they’re better suited than most to playing against the Reds, even if they’d have preferred to save the battle for later in the competition.
Present at Monday’s Champions League draw, Atletico president Enrique Cerezo has been talking a good game, explaining that just as it’s a hard draw for the Rojiblancos, it’s also going to be a ‘problem’ for the Premier League leaders.
“All the qualifiers are fifty-fifty. I tell Liverpool that we are here. I would not have preferred another team because I like Liverpool, the city and The Beatles.”
The Spanish sport media are also big fans of The Beatles and there’s likely to be endless puns ahead of the ties between the two teams.
Atletico Madrid are currently fifth in La Liga, and Simeone has been questioned at times this season. It will be a good chance for the manager to show what he’s best at, and it could be a difficult tactical question for Klopp.
Liverpool may have a packed fixture calendar, but if things carry on the way they’ve started there’s a good chance the Reds will be able to rest players ahead of the Atletico ties, whereas the Spanish club need to climb the table quickly.
