Despite having one of the best squads in Europe, Real Madrid have largely been underwhelming when facing any of the big teams this season. The Merengues have already lost twice to Barcelona, were able to only get draws in their two matches against Atletico Madrid, and also lost to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League.
However, this changed as they faced Manchester City in the play-off round ahead of the Round of 16 of the UCL. Los Blancos were clearly the better side in both legs of this tie, and got a 6-3 aggregate win over Pep Guardiola’s side, after winning 3-2 at the Etihad and 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Thus, making their way to the Round of 16 in style, the morale of the Royal White team and their fans is once again sky-high. However, there is no doubt that they still have a long and difficult road ahead if they are to successfully defend their UCL title.
The challenge of this road was confirmed today with the Round of 16 draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, where Real Madrid were drawn against Atlético Madrid.
The first leg of this tie is scheduled to take place on 4/5th March, while the second leg will be played a week later, on 11/12th March.
There is no doubt this is going to be a highly entertaining tie between the Madrid clubs, who have already drawn their two La Liga matches this season. Between these two UCL clashes, Los Blancos will also host Rayo Vallecano in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Keeping in view the significance of the tie, every fan would be dreaming of watching the two matches live. Fans hoping to experience the action live at the stadium can buy tickets from Live Football Tickets.
There is no doubt that Atletico Madrid will pose a stiff challenge to the Merengues’ hopes of defending their UCL title. However, Real Madrid have always gotten the better of their cross-town rivals in knock-out UCL games, and hopefully, it will be no different this time as well.
