Champions League: "City faces complicated task against Atletico", warn Garcia and Enrique
Manchester City will be up against Atletico Madrid in UEFA Champions League 2021-22 quarterfinals on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Luis Garcia and Jose Enrique have warned City of a complicated task.
FollowReigning English champion Manchester City will be up against reigning Spanish champion Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals of the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League (UCL). The opening leg of the tie will be played at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Tuesday. Meanwhile, pundits Luis Garcia and Jose Enrique have warned the English side of a complicated task it faces ahead.
It will be the first European meeting between City and Atletico. However, City head coach Pep Guardiola is no stranger to Atletico boss Diego Simeone's tactics on the European stage. In 2015-16, Atletico defeated Guardiola's Bayern Munich in the UCL semis. Meanwhile, former Atletico star Garcia has warned that Atletico could use a similar counter-attack tactic to upset City.
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"It is one of the teams you don't want to face because of the rhythm and the players that Guardiola has developed. He knows how to use the players in every situation. But, Atletico is a complicated team when they have confidence and return to the basics of defending well together," he told Opta.
"With players in an attack like Joao Felix and Angel Correa, with players like Yannick Carrasco and Marcos Llorente, they can be dangerous on counter-attacks, and we have seen City suffer against teams that sit back," added Garcia. On the other hand, Enrique warned that Atletico might do whatever it takes to earn a win.
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"Sometimes Cholo [Simeone] gets hit, but he knows what he has to do in this type of competition, and it won't be easy. Pep knows Cholo a lot, and Cholo knows Pep a lot. Manchester City will have possession, and that doesn't matter to Cholo. He wants to win, and Cholo is very complicated and can beat anyone across two games," he cited.
