DBasia.news – UEFA held a re-draw for the last 16 of the Champions League on Monday (13/12) evening WIB, after a technical error in the first draw. One of the draws pitted Manchester United against Atletico Madrid.
The two teams had not met since the first draw, Man United played against PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) and Atletico against Bayern Munich. But from the second draw the two teams were destined to meet.
Atletico are a ‘new’ opponent for United even though they are consistently playing in the Champions League, plus they are currently the defending champions. The last time the two teams met was in 1991-1992 in the Cup Winners’ Cup and Atletico won 4-1 on aggregate.
Atletico will be a troublesome opponent for United as they are quite experienced in Europe, reaching the final twice and winning the Europa League in 2010, 2012 and 2018. But for Cristiano Ronaldo, Atletico are no strangers.
From mid 2009-2021 when he defended Real Madrid and Juventus, Ronaldo met Atletico quite often and for Diego Simeone’s team, CR7 was a scourge. Statistics have said a lot about it.
Ronaldo has faced Atletico 35 times with 25 goals, 16 wins, nine assists, two Champions League final wins and four hat-tricks. Ronaldo has met Atletico in the Champions League five times and he has always won.
In addition to Ronaldo who already understands Atletico well, United goalkeeper David De Gea has also returned to where he grew and developed. De Gea signed for United in 2011 from Atletico and he is a product of Atletico’s academy.
The first leg will take place at the Wanda Metropolitano on February 24, 2022 at 03.00 AM WIB, then the second leg will be played at Man United’s headquarters, Old Trafford on March 16 2022 at 03.00 AM WIB.