Atletico Madrid travel to North Rhine-Westphalia to execute the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final and it promises to be spectacular.ย
Both Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid will be dreaming about the opportunity to sustain a fairytale run in the Champions League by reaching the last four against Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona.ย
Atletico and Dortmund have met four times in the UCL and their most recent matchup during the 2018/19 group stage ended in a 2-0 home win for the Spaniards after BVB had already thrashed them 4-0 in the first game.ย
The Germans will be hoping for similar fortunes going into this home leg but they are likely to still have a lot to do after a tough trip to Madrid in the first leg.ย
Last seasonโs Bundesliga runners-up won the Group of Death containing Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, and Newcastle United before getting past PSV Eindhoven 3-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16.ย
Dortmund lost the league title by mere minutes last season and the Black and Yellows got only one point from their first two UCL games against PSG and AC Milan. Despite the rising tensions, 10 points from the last 12 available set them up for the PSV clash while they also steadied in the league.ย
Edin Terzic has overseen eight wins and five draws from their last 14 games in all competitions as the team received a boost of quality with the additions of Ian Maatsen and the returning Jadon Sancho.
BVB are now in their first UCL quarter-final in three seasons with a realistic chance to reach the final four should things go their way. They will be happy that their home support can back them up during the decisive leg.ย
First, they must ride on more than luck to outwit the European juggernauts and it is pertinent that BVBโs best and most experienced players stand up to be counted on a very big night for the club.
Dortmund are 20 points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen and 10 behind the second-placed Bayern Munich. The UCL is a last chance saloon to make something of their season and the less difficult side of the draw could just swing in their favour.
Atleti, on their part, are bidding to reach their first Champions League semifinal in seven years and there is a quiet optimism that this could be their year.ย
Diego Simeoneโs side began the 2023-24 season unbeaten in the first three matches until a 3-0 loss at Valencia preceded a frustrating 1-1 draw at Lazio in their UCL opener. Those fears were quickly wiped away by a timely victory in the Madrid derby which kickstarted a six-match winning run in all competitions. Celtic then forced ten-man Atleti to a 2-2 draw but they were hit for six in the return game.ย
Atletico asserted their top spot in Group E with further victories over Feyenoord and Lazio to advance to a Last 16 encounter with Inter Milan. Meanwhile, results remained steady in the Spanish league and they reached the Copa del Rey semifinal.ย
Marko Arnautovic grabbed a deserved winning goal in the away leg of their UCL knockout fixture and although they lost three of the next four matches, Los Colchoneros turned around a two-goal aggregate deficit to force their Round of 16 second leg into extra-time.
After a nerve-wracking penalty shootout, Atleti came out on top to remind the continent of their never-say-die attitude and unique ability to turn around games at this level.
The Spanish capital side currently occupies fourth place in La Liga and they are primed as ever to profit from any opportunities that present themselves in Europeโs premier club competition.ย
Simeoneโs side are masters of game management but they must have worked hard for a decent result in the first leg to stand a chance at Dortmundโs magnificent arena.ย
Match tickets
This UEFA Champions League Quarter-final second leg takes place on Wednesday, 16 April 2024 with kick-off scheduled for 8 PM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on both clubsโ websites with allocation guaranteed for season ticket holders and registered members.
UEFA has allocated 3,800 tickets for Atleti so the trip is not for everyone, meanwhile, the club is encouraging as many as possible to travel by subsidizing โฌ200 per person for 1,000 flights from Madrid to Dortmund. This means it would be a cracking atmosphere at the Signal Iduna Park where over 80,000 people could be in attendance.ย
We sympathize with those supporters who are yet to cop match tickets for this big match but advise them to search for Borussia Dortmund vs Atletico Madrid tickets on a ticket resale site.ย ย ย ย
Team news
Following Sebastien Hallerโs return from injury, BVB have a clean slate with injuries and they would hope to still have a fully fit squad for this tie.ย
Atleti had the likes of Vitolo, Thomas Lemar, Marcos Paulo, Mario Hermoso, and Jose Maria Gimenez out injured at the time of writing.ย
Line-ups
BVB has built some momentum which they must trust in the stern test against Atleti. The Prussians must be bold and attack the Spaniards while being tactically disciplined to stay in the game.ย
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson, Sule, Hummels, Maatsen; Ozcan, Sabitzer; Malen, Brandt, Sancho; Fullkrug
Axel Witsel looks set to play a crucial role against his former team from the centre of defence, the Belgian must marshall his backline against a very talented attacking side. Simeone will surely have an ace or two up his sleeve so expect to see attempts at a game-altering substitution in the latter stages.ย
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Molina, Hermoso, Savic, Witsel, Samuel Lino; Marcos Llorente, Koke, De Paul; Morata, Griezmann
Prediction
Atletico Madrid are favourites in this tie and they must show enough of that to progress to the last four or get swept aside by the Yellow Wall. Dortmund will be passionate in front of their home fans but Atleti have been in this situation countless times when they have had to silence a partisan crowd.
The pedigree, tactical astuteness, game-management, and intensity of Atleti might be too much for BVB at this stage. This is the kind of fixture to go to penalties after an intense battle.ย
Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Atletico Madrid
