Atlético seeks to strengthen its candidacy for the ‘Top 8’ in Da Luz
The red and white team wants to add three points again against Benfica to settle in the noble positions of the classification
MADRID, 1 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Atlético de Madrid visits Benfica this Wednesday at the Estádio Da Luz (9:00 p.m./Movistar+) on the second day of the league phase of the 2024-25 Champions League, a match in which the colchoneros seek a second victory in their first two games to settle in the ‘Top 8’ of the classification against a Lisbon team that also achieved victory in its debut.
Atlético faces the first exit of the league phase of the ‘new’ Champions League with the peace of mind of having achieved a good result in its debut, where it managed to overcome RB Leipzig at the Metropolitano thanks to goals from Griezmann and Giménez. Furthermore, Simeone’s men will arrive in Lisbon with high morale after tying the Madrid derby in the League against Real Madrid in the final stages of the match thanks to a goal from Correa.
In Da Luz, a place of unfortunate memory for Atlético, who lost a 2014 Champions League final against Real Madrid there, Simeone’s men will try to improve their away streak in European competition. And the red and whites have only won one game away from their stadium in Europe in the last two seasons, the one against Feyenoord last year (1-3). However, their last two European visits, against Inter and Dortmund, have ended in defeat.
To end the streak and, above all, continue the pace at the top of the qualifying table, the red and white team needs to continue showing the defensive reliability of this beginning of the season. Atlético is the team with the fewest goals scored in LaLiga with only four goals conceded, and its goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, is the sixth best in save percentage in the five major leagues. The bad news for ‘Cholo’ is that he will not be able to count on Robin Le Normand, who suffered a head injury in the duel against Real Madrid.
The match against Benfica will also serve to see if Simeone’s commitment to the offensive trident formed by Julián Álvarez, Griezmann and Sorloth is maintained. The red and whites are called to take a step forward this season in ‘Champions’ after having experienced their most ambitious summer in the last decade, and the commitment to more offensive football is something that is presupposed for a candidate to lift the title.
The only one of the three that seems permanent for Simeone is Griezmann, even more so when it comes to playing in the top continental competition. And the performance of the ‘Little Prince’ in ‘Champions’ improves on that offered in the domestic competition. A clear example was the debut at the Metropolitano, in which he participated in the team’s two goals, scoring one and giving the other to Giménez. Furthermore, in his last four games in the Champions League he has participated in four goals.
Opposite will be Bruno Lage’s Benfica, who are having a great start to the season despite the surprising defeat on the first league matchday against Famalicao. Since then, the progress of the Lisbon team has been almost immaculate, managing to win six of the seven games played, in which only one draw has been achieved, away against Moreirense in the Portuguese league.
In the Champions League, the ‘Eagles’ also began their journey with a victory in the always complicated visit to Red Star Belgrade (1-2). Now, in front of their home crowd, where they have won the four games they have played this season, and where they have not lost since October 2023, they will try to score full points after two games.
A Benfica that is standing out for its scoring ability at this start of the season. So far he has scored 19 goals in the eight games played, although in his last games he has uncovered himself, managing to pierce the opponent’s goal 14 times in his last four games. Furthermore, when playing at home, his scoring average shoots up to 3.25 per game.
In sports, the Lisbon team has a team full of offensive talent led by the Argentine Ángel Di María, Atlético de Madrid’s executioner in that ‘Champions’ final in 2014. But beyond the ‘Fideo’, the Turkish talent of Aktürkoglu –author of three goals and two assists in his first four games with Benfica– will be the greatest danger for Diego Pablo Simeone’s men.
TECHNICAL SHEET.
–POSIBLE ALIGNMENTS.
Benfica:Trubin; Bah, Álvaro Otamendi, Antonio Silva, Álvaro Fernández; Florentino, Kökcü, Aursnes; Di María, Pavlidis y Aktürkoglu.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID: Oblak; Llorente, Witsel, Giménez, Reinildo, Lino; DePaul, Koke, Gallagher; Griezmann and Sorloth.
–ÁRBITRO: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED).
–STADIUM: Da Luz Stadium.
–TIME: 9:00 p.m./Movistar+.