Atlético Madrid upset all of the odds to win the La Liga title and make it to the Champions League final last season, in which they were eventually pipped to the crown by Real Madrid. Does lightning strike twice? Well, Diego Simeone's side will certainly be hoping so, as they bid to progress deep into the tournament for the second consecutive campaign. There's no doubt that they will be expecting to see off Bayer Leverkusen in the first knockout round, with the German side having often been much bark and little bite once through the group stages. However will that have changed under their über-aggressive manager Roger Schmidt? There's only one way to find out ...
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Atlético Madrid, Champions League draw: Atléti expected to progress
Bayer Leverkusen meet last season’s Champions League finalists in the tournament’s first knockout stage.
Bayer Leverkusen
While Leverkusen have struggled to keep pace with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga (let's face it, that's been hard for any team for years now), they've established themselves in a very respectable third place in Germany's top division. Considering this is a season in which many sides that are normally at the top of the Bundesliga are fighting off relegation, that's no mean feat.
Leverkusen are young, athletic, and very well drilled thanks to the tactical ministrations of manager Roger Schmidt. They defend very well, and win they win possession back, they break forward with ludicrous speed that few teams have been able to handle consistently. They may not be a titan with a deep talent pool like some of the other 15 teams left in the Champions League, they’re also not a side that anyone should take lightly.
Key Player - Son Heung-Min
The Korean forward has been an explosive asset for Leverkusen since his arrival a season ago, and his versatility and quality has been a huge boon for the German side. Son has only built on his first season’s success, so far scoring five goals in the league and another five during Champions League qualifying and group play. He’s not just a finisher; his work rate and creativity have allowed him to play a key role in Leverkusen’s counter attacking and buildup play. Anything positive the Germans do in attack, you can bet Son is involved in the heart of it.
Atlético Madrid
Last season’s runner-up is back for another bite of the apple, and there’s reason to believe they could beat a better side. For a team to come so painfully close to winning the title against their biggest rival and have everything go so spectacularly wrong at the end, Diego Simeone deserves a lot of credit for having them back and looking even better than they did last season.
Diego Costa, Thibaut Courtois and Filipe Luis are gone, but Atléti reloaded in the offseason with the addition of Mario Mandžukić, Antoine Griezmann, Miguel Ángel Moyà and others. The new faces took some time to gel and it led to a slow start to the season for Atléti, including an uncharacteristic 3-2 loss in their opening group stage match against Olympiakos. Once the new players settled into Simeone's system, things started to click for Atléti and they went on to four of their last five group stages matches, finishing up with a scoreless draw against Juventus that secured first place.
If anything, this Atléti side is flying even more under the radar this season than they did in the last. Their league form after some early hiccups as been superb, and they could be poised for another deep run in the Champions League. They can't match up talent wise with fellow Spanish clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid, but an argument could be made that they are the best team of the three. They're certainly more cohesive than Barcelona and in a tight two-leg tie, Simeone's carefully crafted tactics can be highly effective.
Key player - Mario Mandžukić
The big, physical forward joined Atléti over the summer after falling out of favor with Bayern Munich head coach Pep Guardiola. The German side’s loss became Los Colchoneros gain as they were able to sign an ideal replacement for Diego Costa. No one can really replace the unique talents of the fiery Brazilian turned Spaniard, but Mandžukić is close. He possesses a similar attitude to Costa -- though calmer overall -- along with willingness to get into physical battles with defenders that both help create space for his teammates, and lead to frustration induced mistakes. His five goals in group play led the team and they’ll need him to keep scoring if they want to go back to the final.
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