In-form Atletico Madrid looks to end its slump against city rival Real

The Madrid derby takes center stage in the round of 16 of the Champions League, with Atletico Madrid in a commanding position to try to finally get the best of rival Real Madrid in the European competition.

Madrid, the record 15-time European champion, has been a thorn for Atletico in the Champions League over the years, beating the city rival in two finals and eliminating it from the competition the other two times they faced off in the knockout rounds.

But this Atletico arrives for Tuesday’s first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium playing some of its best soccer since coach Diego Simeone took over more than a decade ago, and showing the confidence that it can take on the longtime rival head-on.

The round of 16 will begin this week to cap the inaugural season of a new Champions League format that featured a league phase and a playoff round.

The other last-16 matchups will include the local rivalry of German clubs Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, and powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool going against each other.

Atletico Madrid enters the match against Madrid in good form and enjoying one of its best seasons under Simeone. The team is ahead of its rival in the Spanish league standings, and is only one point behind leader Barcelona.

Atletico hasn’t lost any of its matches this season against either Madrid or Barcelona. In the Spanish league, it beat the Catalan club 2-1 in Barcelona and drew 1-1 in both games it played against Madrid. Atletico hasn’t lost to Madrid in four consecutive matches, having eliminated the city rival in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey last season.

“When you choose to be a coach, you want to face the strongest opponents, and to compete in every competition with the intention of winning,” Simeone said ahead of the matchup against Madrid.

Simeone’s team finished fifth in the league phase of the Champions League, while Madrid was only 11th and had to play extra playoff games against Manchester City.

The last time Atletico faced Madrid in the Champions League, it was eliminated in the semifinals in 2017. It also lost to Madrid in the final both in 2014 and 2016, and in the 2015 quarterfinals.

Overall, Atletico has won only three of its 10 meetings against Madrid in UEFA competitions, with five losses and two draws.

Madrid is coming off a loss at Real Betis in the Spanish league, while Atletico won 1-0 against Athletic Bilbao.

PSG vs. Liverpool

Premier League leader Liverpool finished the league phase in first place but there was little reward as it will have to take on France powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.

PSG struggled in the league phase, finishing in 15th place, but picked up momentum in the playoffs by routing fellow French club Brest 3-0 in the first leg and 7-0 in the return game at home, when seven different players scored.

Liverpool won seven of its eight Champions League matches this season, with the lone defeat coming at PSV Eindhoven in the final matchday, when it had little to lose.

Benfica vs. Barcelona

An in-form Barcelona, which had the second-best campaign in the league phase, will face a familiar foe in Benfica.

The two teams met in the league phase, with the Barcelona winning a 5-4 thriller in Lisbon. Benfica stunned Barcelona 3-0 at home in the group stage in 2021-22, and held the Spanish powerhouse to a 0-0 away draw in results that helped keep the five-time champion from advancing to the knockout stage at the time.

PSV vs. Arsenal

PSV Eindhoven brought one of the surprises of the league phase with its 3-2 win over Liverpool, and then it got past Juventus with an extra-time victory in the playoffs.

It will now another face another Premier League team in top form: An Arsenal squad that is second in the Premier behind Liverpool and that finished third in the league phase of the Champions League.

Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen

The all-German encounter will feature a Leverkusen side that finished sixth in the league phase and a Bayern team that needed a stoppage-time goal by Alphonso Davies to get through the playoffs against Celtic.

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen trails Bayern by eight points in the Bundesliga, but did not concede any attempts on target when the two played a 0-0 draw last month.

Other matchups

Last year’s runner-up, Borussia Dortmund will take on a Lille side that thrived in the league phase, finishing seventh after a campaign that included wins over both Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

Aston Villa also was a league-phase surprise, losing only once to finish eighth and set up the round-of-16 matchup against a Club Brugge squad that defeated Villa 1-0 at home in November. Brugge eliminated Atalanta in the playoffs.

Inter Milan conceded only once — in a 1-0 loss at Leverkusen — en route to a fourth-place finish in the league phase. It will face a Feyenoord team that will have Robin van Persie as its third coach in the Champions League this season. TALES AZZONI, MADRID, MDT/AP