Madrid will be the epicentre of European football for the next two days as the Spanish capital’s two biggest clubs, Atletico and Real, host Chelsea and Bayern Munich respectively in the first legs of this season’s UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
While it is no surprise to see holders Bayern reach the last four along with nine-time winners Real and Chelsea, the competition’s last English victors, few people expected Atletico to come this far, 40 years on from their only appearance in the final.
The revelations of the year, Atletico remain ideally placed to win La Liga, while Chelsea’s Premier League title hopes suffered a massive dent when they lost 2-1 at home to Sunderland last Saturday.
The only unbeaten team left in the competition, with eight wins and two draws to their name, Atletico have developed a habit of setting a furious pace at the start of games and then keeping their noses in front.
The experience and cunning of Jose Mourinho, the first coach to reach eight Champions League semi-finals, could prove decisive, however, just as it was when the Londoners overcame Paris Saint-Germain on away goals in the previous round.
Yet, what opposite number Diego Simeone lacks in experience, he makes up for with his ability to infuse his players with burning desire and a will to win, qualities that came to the fore in their 2-1 aggregate defeat of Barcelona in the quarter-finals. Chelsea know victory will not come easy in tonight's semi-final first-leg encounter at the Vicente Calderon, against an Atletico side that refuse to relinquish their grasp on the top spot in La Liga. — AFP
