Diego Simeone believes that Manchester United are one of the best teams in the world right now. According to the manager of Atlético Madrid, there are currently hardly any weaknesses in the team of interim manager Ralf Rangnick. “It’s a strong, dynamic team with very good attackers,” said Simeone.
Atlético will take on United in their own Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday evening. Simeone is looking forward to the diptych in the eighth finals of the Champions League and carefully takes the role of the underdog. “We are facing one of the best teams in the world when you look at the last fourteen games, if I’m not mistaken,” said the Argentine coach at the press conference ahead of the first leg with United. “They have only lost once. With the new manager, Ralf Rangnick, the team looks more solid and more commitment is shown.”
“We can see how good Manchester United have always been. They have made progress since the new manager came in and are already fourth in the league,” Simeone continued. “It is a strong, dynamic team, with very good attackers and very good footballers in general. It will be a very difficult game, like any Champions League game. But we are really looking forward to being in our stadium for our fans and we are very lucky to be able to play the eighth finals at home now, as that was not the case last year.”
Captain Koke injured his thigh during the 0-3 win over Osasuna last Saturday and is therefore not fit for the game in Madrid. Simeone sees United as a favorite. “The team is much more compact, it is stronger,” said the Argentinian. “They look really solid in the back and with the centre-backs and midfielders, Manchester United is a very physical team. They’re really strong and it’s really, really hard to find weaknesses there. I always estimate the quality of our opponent, but of course we will try to find a way to hurt them”, concludes Simeone.