Atletico Madrid Top Serie A

In what is a ninth UEFA Champions League (UCL) round of 16 appearance across the past 11 campaigns, Atlético Madrid will need to overcome a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Inter Milan to make it to the quarter-final of this season’s edition. However, form isn’t on the side of Diego Simeone’s men to achieve that target with five defeats from their last eight competitive games (W2, D1), including a 2-0 loss to relegation-threatened Cádiz in La Liga last weekend. Despite this, the hosts should take confidence from the fact the Metropolitano Stadium has been a near-fortress for Los Colchoneros in recent times. They have lost just once at this venue across 20 competitive games this season (W18, D1), including three wins in the group stage of this competition. The last two of those UCL home wins came by a 2+ goal margin, something that would secure Atlético’s progression here. They’ll have their work cut out against an Inter side who have progressed from 42 of the 46 previous UEFA knockout ties in which they won the first leg at home. That included a win over Porto at this stage last season, when they followed a 1-0 first-leg home win with a goalless draw. Recent form suggests the Nerazzurri are well equipped to add to that record given they have won their last 13 competitive games, which has also handed them a formidable 16-point lead at the top of the Serie A standings. Boosting their chances of a second-straight UCL quarter-final appearance is Inter’s recent record of six consecutive away wins, four of which came with a clean sheet. Yet if there has been one chink in their armour, it’s been slow starts on the road in European action this season, as they needed late goals beyond the 70th minute to salvage a draw in two of their last three UCL away games (W1, D2) after conceding first. Hot stat: Six of Atlético’s last nine UCL matches have seen the game’s opening goal arrive within the first ten minutes.