Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid : Five Things to Watch For
By Vijay Vemu
2. Can Atletico Madrid strike on the counterattack?
To make up for not having much possession, Atletico Madrid love to strike on the counterattack.
With the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Luciano Vietto up front for Madrid, they have the pace to strike a team on the counterattack but the duo struggled against PSV and have to come up with better performances. Part of the reason why Atletico struggled in attack was due to the absence of winger Yannick Ferreira Carrasco.
Carrasco, who last year played for Monaco, has the pace and skill to give defenders problems down the wing. He has created 21 chances for the team in his 20 appearances with a ratio of about a chance per game. But he hasn’t played in the last two games and probably won’t start this one as well.
So it will be up to the two mentioned before to carry the load for Atletico. Vietto scored against Real Madrid the last time these two teams met. But Griezmann should be looking for a better performance against Los Blancos. Especially considering he missed a penalty in the first half of their draw last time out.
Atletico are known more for their defense than offense but against Real Madrid they have to show some form of attack and they usually do. However without a key player like Carrasco, they may struggle like they have the past few fixtures.
Next: 1. Momentum