Champions League: Wounded Atletico hosts Borussia Dortmund

Less than two weeks after its biggest loss under coach Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid will get a chance to make amends.

The Spanish team will host Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in the Champions League, 13 days after the Bundesliga leaders beat Atletico 4-0 in Germany.

Dortmund is unbeaten in 15 competitive games under coach Lucien Favre and can advance from Group A with another victory. An upcoming Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich on Saturday could provide some distraction, however.

The 4-0 loss on Oct. 24 equaled Atletico’s worst result in the competition, while it was the team’s first four-goal loss in 391 games with Simeone in charge. Despite the result, Atletico can also advance to the knockout stage with a win if Monaco draws with Club Brugge in the earlier group game.

Atletico is unfamiliar with big losses but can take heart after bouncing back in the past.

The team twice lost to city rival Real Madrid 3-0 in 2016-17, but responded with three wins and a draw on both occasions, while it claimed four consecutive victories after a 3-0 loss at Villarreal.

Atletico has also only lost once (to Chelsea) in 19 European games at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, and the club hasn’t lost at home to a German team in eight games since a 1-0 defeat to Dortmund in 1996-97. Dortmund went on to win the trophy that season.

Monaco and Club Brugge have only faint hopes of progressing, each with a point from three games so far.

Monaco is a far cry from the side that reached the semifinals in 2017. Radamel Falcao returned from injury to come off the bench in Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Reims, which was a fourth match without a win for Thierry Henry since he took charge.

Source: AP

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