Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone says concentration and control will be key for last season’s finalists when they face Bayer Leverkusen away in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16, first leg tie.
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Madrid arrive in Germany in a rich-vein of form with ex-Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic having claimed 20 goals in all competitions this season and the defending champions third in La Liga.
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Bayer, who reached the 2002 Champions League final where they were beaten by Real Madrid, are struggling for form having leaked a late equaliser at Augsburg on Saturday in a 2-2 draw and are winless in their last three games to leave coach Roger Schmidt under pressure in his first season in charge.
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To make matters worse, history is against Leverkusen who have lost their last four two-legged ties against Spanish opposition.
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The Germans were humiliated at the hands of Barcelona in 2012, then Paris St Germain last year at the same stage of the competition and have never won a last 16 tie in the current format.
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But Argentinian-born Simeone says he wants to see a poised display from his team at Leverkusen’s BayArena.
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“It’s a huge match for us. We want to keep control of the game and also keep possession of the ball,” said the 44-year-old.
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“We have to be careful. If we’re in possession, Leverkusen will apply a lot of pressure to get the ball back.
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“We’re in very good shape and are really enthusiastic. But we have to be very focused – this is always very important for our performance. If we do that, we get a good result.”
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Typically for a Champions League coach, Simeone ignored Leverkusen’s below-par results and insisted his side must respect the home side, that lost a 5-4 thriller to Wolfsburg ten days ago when striker Son Heung-Min scored a second-half hat-trick only to end up on the losing side.
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“Leverkusen have a good coach and good players, they’re a well-balanced team. It’s always important to show respect to your opponents,” he said.
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“I don’t know if teams give us more respect now just because we’ve done well in the past.
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“There may be more attractive opponents than us, who you would rather face, but we’re here.”
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Schmidt had earlier insisted Leverkusen are the under-dogs to reach the quarterfinals, but Simeone quickly rebuffed the ‘favourites’ tag for his team.
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“I don’t think we’re the favourites in this tie. It starts at 0-0 so anything is possible,” he said.
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