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Atletico Madrid beat Juventus but still Real Madrid remain the kings of Europe

Sudarshan Venkatesan
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Real Madrid still remain the kings of Europe after Atletico Madrid’s victory over Juventus on Wednesday.

Atletico Madrid invited Juventus to Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. It was an exhilarating contest which saw Diego Simeone’s side come out on top and win the game 2-0 in the capital city of Spain.

It was the home side who started the game on the front foot, but they were unlucky not get ahead in the first half while creating plenty of chances. However, things got changed in the second leg when they kept banging on Juventus’ defence relentlessly until they found a solution.

During the 78th minute, Jose Maria Gimenez was able to tap the ball in from close range through a set piece situation to secure the lead for the hosts. Five minutes later, Juventus were further behind in the game, thanks to Diego Godin’s shot and a tiny reflection off Cristiano Ronaldo which helped the ball to find the back of the net.

There was a half chance for Cristiano Ronaldo in the dying moments of the game, but the ball had too much pace which meant that the Portuguese International would not be able to direct the ball towards the goal.

By keeping yet another clean sheet, Diego Simeone’s side have prevented their oppositions from scoring on 34 occasions which is highest tally over the last 7 years.

 

With this victory, Atletico Madrid are on the verge of entering the next round after keeping their track record of staying unbeaten and securing a victory in the Round of 16. Apart from Real Madrid, Diego Simeone’s side has never lost a knockout round in the UEFA Champions League over the last seven years to any other team which stands out the most.

The tweet read “Reminder that the only club to knock out an Atletico Madrid team managed by Diego Simeone from the UCL is Real Madrid. Atletico not been beaten over two legs by any club other than Real Madrid since Simeone took charge in 2011.”

Atletico Madrid are yet to win a Champions League, but this is an incredible record in the knockout stages of the competition. They reached the final twice in the last five years, but they lost to their noisy neighbours Real Madrid on both occasions.

In fair contrast, the Los Blancos have won the competition thirteen times which is the highest by any side in the history of the competition.

Can Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid face off in the Champions League finals once again?

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