Man Utd vs Atletico: Ronaldo meets a familiar foe in the UCL showdown

Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United play host to Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the round of 16 UCL tie at Old Trafford.

The first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano ended in a 1-1 draw. Joao Felix scored a bullet header to put the home side in front, but a late strike by teenager Anthony Elanga meant it ended in a draw.

Since then Manchester United lost a derby to city rivals Manchester City and needed a sensational hattrick from their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to overcome Tottenham Hotspurs.

Manchester United have a fully fit squad unlike Atletico Madrid who are missing several key players. Diego Simeone’s side would be missing as many as 8 players for the crucial encounter in the United Kingdom.

Former Liverpool FC striker Luis Suarez is named in the Atletico squad set to take on Manchester United. He has an okayish record against the Red Devils having scored 2 goals and assisting another 2.

As for Atletico Madrid, they have a win against them while the other two matches ended in a draw.

Manchester United are favourites to win this tie mainly because of Cristiano Ronaldo and the record he has against Atletico Madrid. The last time he faced Atletico Madrid at home, he scored a wonderful hattrick to knock them out at the Allianz Stadium for Juventus.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s record vs Atletico Madrid is pretty impressive. He has scored 25 goals and assisted another 9 in the 36 times he has faced the Spanish giants. This includes 4 hattricks from the Portuguese Maestro – 2 in the UCL and 2 in the La Liga.

It promises to be an enticing encounter as no one can discount Diego Simeone and his men who despite being an away side will try their best to unsettle the Man Utd rhythm.