A disappointing domestic campaign for Atletico Madrid has been saved by their success in Europe, where Diego Simeone has recaptured the form – and tactical strategy – of his best years.
This is fundamentally a cup team, after all, with Simeone’s doggedly reactive football designed primarily to negate royalty. RB Leipzig might not be that, but as Atleti’s back-to-back victories over Liverpool show, they can win a war of attrition.
We kick-off with the most entertaining of the four ties. Thomas Tuchel’s Paris Saint-Germain have developed into a tactically astute side in his dynamic formation, but there are fatal flaws that remain within it that could favour the Italians, whereas Atalanta’s own aggressive tactical strategy may leave themselves exposed to PSG’s greatest strengths. There will surely be goals.
Tuchel’s 4-2-2-2 morphs into a 2-3-5 when in possession, with one full-back dropping into midfield to help Idrissa Gueye and Marco Verratti distribute into the final third as that 2-3 shape creates multiple triangular passing options in the middle of the park.
From here, the idea is to hit a fluid front five that alternate dropping off and making runs in behind, four of them bunching together on one side while the fifth lurks – unmarked, out of sight – on the other flank.
Odds correct as of 0900 BST on 11/08/20
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