Chelsea Made Outsiders for Atletico Madrid Champions League Tie

Chelsea and UEFA Champions League last 16 opponents Atletico Madrid are no strangers to each other. Both teams are coached by iconic midfielders in Frank Lampard and Diego Simeone, and the two clubs have met in Europe’s elite club competition before. On past encounters, there isn’t an awful lot between them.

Atleti have set the early pace in La Liga this season with city rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona trailing them. Simeone’s side have been strong defensively on the domestic front and came second to UEFA Champions League holders Bayern Munich in their group this term. The results Chelsea have posted following a summer of massive spending have been more mixed. They are unbeaten in Europe this term, winning their pool with four wins and two draws.

Despite that, the UEFA Champions League betting on the first leg in the Wanda Metropolitano on 23 February makes Atletico favourites over Lampard’s Blues. Simeone has always made sure the new stadium has been a fortress since the move from the Vicente Calderon.

When Chelsea last met Atleti in a knockout phase tie back in 2014, there was a cagey first leg draw in Spain. At Stamford Bridge, Simeone’s side came from behind to win 3-1 and advance to the final.

The Blues are unbeaten in two group games since, which both came in the 2017-18 season. Thankfully for Lampard, there are no old boys in Atletico’s ranks who could come back to haunt Chelsea after Brazil-born Spain striker Diego Costa was released from his contract early and Alvaro Morata loaned back to Juventus.

Transfers and links between the clubs have been particularly common in recent years. Besides Costa and Morata, former Brazil left-back Filipe Luis and World Cup-winning striker Fernando Torres played for both teams.

Even if those connections are no longer there, Lampard still has to worry about a past Premier League Golden Boot winner leading the Atleti line. Former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was moved on by Barcelona during the summer but continues to score goals in Spain.

When he played in the Premier League against Chelsea, Suarez’s scored twice in six appearances. While that isn’t a formidable record, at Atletico he is acting as a foil for Portugal prodigy Joao Felix in attack.

Felix, the Golden Boy award winner in 2019 for the best young player in Europe, cost Simeone around £113,000,000 to sign from Benfica which made him one of the most expensive transfers in football history. Now learning from Suarez at club level and Cristiano Ronaldo on international duty, he could become one of the most lethal forwards in the game.

Chelsea’s defending has left a lot to be desired at times throughout this season so far. The combination of wily veteran Suarez and the up-and-coming Felix is going to give their rearguard plenty to think about.

It is easy to see why Lampard may be up against it in the tactical coaching battle with Simeone for this UEFA Champions League tie. More is needed from summer signings such as Kai Havertz and Timo Werner if the Blues are to get the better of Atleti over two legs.