Sports Blog 10/05/2017: UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg – Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid, Wednesday 10th May 2017

Can Atletico Madrid best their Real rivals when the two meet in their Champions League semi-final 2nd leg, at 7.45pm on BT Sport 2?

It is fair to say that the 1st leg at the Bernabeu didn’t go to plan for Diego Simone’s side. A hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo – who enters Wednesday’s reverse fixture with a Super Mega PGM of 44-51 – leaves them with a big hill to climb, one they will have to do without the consolation of an away goal.



Not that Real Madrid head to the Vicente Calderon Stadium free from pressure. The next 7 days are likely the most important of the side’s season, with 3 games that could make or break Zinedine Zidane’s first full year in charge. That may sound hyperbolic for a team in a Champions League semi-final with a 3 goal lead and in 2nd place in La Liga, level on points with Barcelona but with a game in hand; however, it’s not too late for Real to bottle it.

Following today’s European fixture is visit from Sevilla on Saturday and a trip to Celta Vigo next Wednesday. Neither of those games will be easy; the former are in 4th place in the league, while the latter are in a Europa Leage semi-final against Man United. If Real slip up against either it may well mean they hand Barca the La Liga title, especially since the Catalan club a) faces Las Palmas and Eibar in its final 2 games, and b) has a vastly superior goal difference.

But, back to the Champions League. If Atletico are to overcome their perpetual big brother then they need a world beating performance from Antoine Griezmann. The French star, who may well depart the club in the summer, didn’t make much of an impact in the 1st leg, something Atletico can’t afford this time around; he heads into the semi-final at a Super Mega PGM of 33-39.

The 2nd leg itself is too close to call, with Spreadex offering a choice Atletico Madrid/Real Madrid spread of -0.1-0.1 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.85-3.05 (and a Bookings spread of 60-64). That doesn’t necessarily help the hosts out in the long-run, however, given that they minimum need to score 3 goals to just get to extra time.