Atletico are renowned as a tight, pragmatic side, but their identity has changed a little in the last few years. Their 14 Champions League games this season have produced a whopping 60 goals.
Arsenal’s games have been a lot tighter, particularly at their end. In 12 games they’ve scored 27 and conceded only 5.
The players on a yellow card
Nobody. Yellow cards are wiped going into the semi-finals.
At the beginning of the final training session before their biggest game in a decade, Atlético Madrid’s players lined up by the centre circle at the Metropolitano and waited for their coach to come. Diego Simeone arrived and ran through the middle of them, from Juan Musso and Jan Oblak at one end to Antoine Griezmann and Ademola Lookman at the other. As he passed, head down, they cheered and hit him – if not quite as hard as they do when it’s a player’s turn. Gauntlet run, applause echoed round the empty stadium. Happy birthday, mister.
