Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has told his team they will have to be prepared to suffer "vertigo" during Tuesday's Champions League last-16 second leg at Old Trafford.
The tie is delicately poised after a 1-1 draw in Madrid three weeks ago and Simeone knows his side will have their difficult moments against United in front of a packed Old Trafford. But the Argentine believes Atletico - who have won three successive La Liga games since the first leg - are equipped to hurt United on the break during the game.
The absence of the away goals rule makes any goal for the visitors marginally less concerning for United. As such, Simeone is expecting a classic tie.
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“The characteristics of the footballers that Manchester United have and our players and the way we both play I imagine it will be a dynamic game, a game where there will be alternative moments [for each team]," Simeone said. "We’ll press high, it will be the classic type of match you expect in a game like this, the vertigo you suffer sometimes when a team plays at home, I think we have the opportunity to hit on the counter to capitalise on any errors they make."
Atletico's dogged style of play regularly comes in for criticism during their visits to these shores and Ralf Rangnick has already said he knows how the Spanish champions will set up. But Simeone defended his style in a press conference inside Old Trafford on the eve of the second leg between two teams who are having underwhelming seasons domestically.
“In football, it’s all opinions, I think coaches always try to generate what they can with what players they have, in these 10 years we’ve found a path that has given us results and we try to generate and manage and stimulate these players we’ve got," he said. “We know every game is completely different, we’ve done well in these previous games like this in this country, we know the potential and how important the opponent we’re facing tomorrow, and I’m sure that tomorrow we’ll do the best we can in the game.
“I think we’ll do what the team requires, we'll work on our attacking threat from the front, that’s where our initial defensive block starts, when we have to track back we will do. We’re really up for the game, we're happy, that’s really important on an individual level to do well on a collective level."
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