For the fourth season running, there will only be one team from Manchester in the draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League - and they don't play in red. Manchester United suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, meaning that they have now not won a home knockout tie in the competition since 2014. On the other side of the city, Manchester City are safely through to the last-eight after overcoming Sporting Lisbon 5-0 on aggregate. Pep Guardiola's side will be in the pot for Friday's draw, and could well come up against Diego Simeone's Atleti.
If the Blues do get paired with the Champions League runners-up of 2014 and 2016, what should City fans expect? One thing is for certain, and that is that it wouldn't be an easy tie. Atletico have been far from their best this season; after winning La Liga last term, their usual defensive resoluteness has deserted them while up front they have struggled to consistently create chances. Given that they are 15 points behind league leaders Real Madrid and were eliminated from the Copa del Rey at the round of 16 stage, the Champions League represents their only chance of silverware this season.
But as was evident at Old Trafford on Tuesday, something inside Atletico, a crucial part of the club's identity, has been recovered in recent weeks. Los Colchoneros have struck a vein of excellent form, and look to be back to their battling, snarling best. After losing three consecutive league games in December and exiting both the Supercopa and the Copa del Rey in the space of one week in January, Atletico are now on a run of five wins in six, the 1-1 draw with United last month their sole failure to win in a game they largely dominated. During that run, they have scored 12 goals but perhaps more tellingly, they have only conceded three.
