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In-form Atletico Madrid look to end their Champions League slump against city rivals Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s French forward Kylian Mbappe (C,L) and teammates attend a training session on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg between Real Madrid CF and Club Atletico de Madrid at Real Madrid Sports City in Valdebebas, on the outskirts of Madrid, on March 3, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 04 March 2025
AP
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In-form Atletico Madrid look to end their Champions League slump against city rivals Real Madrid

  • The round of 16 will begin this week to cap the inaugural season of a new Champions League format that featured a league phase and a playoff round
  • The other last-16 matchups will include the local rivalry of German clubs Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, and powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool going against each other
Updated 04 March 2025
AP

MADRID: The Madrid derby takes center stage in the round of 16 of the Champions League, with Atletico Madrid in a commanding position to try to finally get the best of rival Real Madrid in the European competition.

Madrid, the record 15-time European champion, have been a thorn for Atletico in the Champions League over the years, beating the city rival in two finals and eliminating it from the competition the other two times they faced off in the knockout rounds.

But this Atletico arrive for Tuesday’s first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium playing some of their best soccer since coach Diego Simeone took over more than a decade ago, and showing the confidence that they can take on the long-time rivasl head-on.

The round of 16 will begin this week to cap the inaugural season of a new Champions League format that featured a league phase and a playoff round.

The other last-16 matchups will include the local rivalry of German clubs Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, and powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool going against each other.

Atletico Madrid enter the match against Madrid in good form and enjoying one of its best seasons under Simeone. The team is ahead of its rival in the Spanish league standings, and is only one point behind leader Barcelona.

Atletico hasn’t lost any of its matches this season against either Madrid or Barcelona. In the Spanish league, it beat the Catalan club 2-1 in Barcelona and drew 1-1 in both games it played against Madrid. Atletico hasn’t lost to Madrid in four consecutive matches, having eliminated the city rival in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey last season.

“It’s a match with a lot of respect, against a great rival, who respects us in the same way.” Simeone said Monday. “For the city of Madrid it is spectacular that the two teams face each other and, for Spain, having a team in the quarterfinals is going to be fantastic.”

Simeone’s team finished fifth in the league phase of the Champions League, while Madrid was only 11th and had to play extra playoff games against Manchester City.

The last time Atletico faced Madrid in the Champions League, it was eliminated in the semifinals in 2017. It also lost to Madrid in the final both in 2014 and 2016, and in the 2015 quarterfinals.

Overall, Atletico has won only three of its 10 meetings against Madrid in UEFA competitions, with five losses and two draws.

“The derby is always a special match,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “They are always very even and very competitive matches, and it’s going to be like that again tomorrow (Tuesday). Atletico is having a very good season.”

Madrid is coming off a loss at Real Betis in the Spanish league, while Atletico won 1-0 against Athletic Bilbao.

PSG vs. Liverpool

Premier League leader Liverpool finished the league phase in first place but there was little reward as they will have to take on France powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.

PSG struggled in the league phase, finishing in 15th place, but picked up momentum in the playoffs by routing fellow French club Brest 3-0 in the first leg and 7-0 in the return game at home, when seven different players scored.

Liverpool won seven of their eight Champions League matches this season, with the lone defeat coming at PSV Eindhoven in the final matchday, when it had little to lose.

Benfica vs. Barcelona

An in-form Barcelona, which had the second-best campaign in the league phase, will face a familiar foe in Benfica.

The two teams met in the league phase, with the Barcelona winning a 5-4 thriller in Lisbon. Benfica stunned Barcelona 3-0 at home in the group stage in 2021-22, and held the Spanish powerhouse to a 0-0 away draw in results that helped keep the five-time champion from advancing to the knockout stage at the time.

PSV vs. Arsenal

PSV Eindhoven brought one of the surprises of the league phase with its 3-2 win over Liverpool, and then it got past Juventus with an extra-time victory in the playoffs.

It will now another face another Premier League team in top form: An Arsenal squad that is second in the Premier behind Liverpool and that finished third in the league phase of the Champions League.

Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen

The all-German encounter will feature a Leverkusen side that finished sixth in the league phase and a Bayern team that needed a stoppage-time goal by Alphonso Davies to get through the playoffs against Celtic.

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen trails Bayern by eight points in the Bundesliga, but did not concede any attempts on target when the two played a 0-0 draw last month.

Other matchups

Last year’s runner-up, Borussia Dortmund will take on a Lille side that thrived in the league phase, finishing seventh after a campaign that included wins over both Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

Aston Villa also were a league-phase surprise, losing only once to finish eighth and set up the round-of-16 matchup against a Club Brugge squad that defeated Villa 1-0 at home in November. Brugge eliminated Atalanta in the playoffs.

Inter Milan conceded only once — in a 1-0 loss at Leverkusen — en route to a fourth-place finish in the league phase. It will face a Feyenoord team that will have Robin van Persie as its third coach in the Champions League this season.

Topics: UEFA Champions League Atletico Madrid real madrid

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Saudi Arabia opening doors for women athletes, says expert

Updated 10 sec ago
Rahaf Jambi
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Saudi Arabia opening doors for women athletes, says expert

  • Lina Al-Maeena, chairperson of Jeddah United Club, lauds progress
  • Focus on female development at World Football Summit in Riyadh
Updated 10 sec ago
Rahaf Jambi

RIYADH: The World Football Summit which ended here on Thursday has once again placed women’s football at the center of its global agenda, highlighting initiatives, insights, and the achievements of trailblazers shaping the sport’s future.

One of the summit’s standout moments was the Female Leaders Awards that celebrated individuals and organizations driving progress, innovation, and equity in the women’s game.

Another anchor of the summit was the Female Leaders Gathering, which in its third year has become a vital platform for discussing leadership pathways and gender equity.

The gathering was led by Farkhunda Muhtaj, captain of the Afghanistan women’s national team, who said she hoped the initiative “continues empowering women to lead and influence the game at every level.”

Among the year’s award winners was Lina Al-Maeena, chairperson of Jeddah United Club, who expressed pride in the rapid transformation taking place within the Kingdom.

“We have come a long way in a very short time,” she said. “Our under-17 girls’ football team is now competing across the country under the Saudi Football Federation, and it shows how fast the sport is evolving.”

She added that “women are now participating in international events, something that felt impossible only a few years ago.”

Al-Maeena emphasized that equal opportunity was a cornerstone of Saudi Vision 2030. “The Ministry of Sports has opened doors for girls and boys across more than 100 federations and committees,” she said.

She highlighted the power of grassroots involvement. “It starts with the community,” she said. “That’s where you find the everyday champions who then rise to clubs and national teams.”

Across multiple sessions at the WFS, experts emphasized that women’s football was entering a new phase marked by global expansion and the rise of nontraditional markets.

The country had launched a professional women’s league, hosted international tournaments, expanded youth programs, and introduced the region’s first Women’s Champions League.

Eileen Gleeson, who has worked extensively in international women’s football, said that emerging markets like Saudi Arabia were “changing the map of where the women’s game can grow.”

She explained that the needs of these regions differed from those of established football nations. “The ambition is there,” she said, “but it’s not always matched with resources. You might want to win, but you can’t invest equally in every area. So the question becomes: where do you put that money?”

For Gleeson, long-term sustainability had to be the guiding principle. “Your starting point is different,” she said. “You’re introducing women’s football while also trying to professionalize it. For long-term growth, investment must go into the developing areas.”

She cited Saudi Arabia’s progress, noting that “in just four years, they’ve moved into professional structures with real commitment.” Still, she cautioned that nurturing homegrown players had to remain a priority.

“You have to protect your domestic league,” she said. “You can’t let it become an international league for its own sake.”

Muhtaj echoed this point, offering her perspective as a player who grew up without a domestic league in Canada. “Many Canadian players had to go abroad,” she said.

“But when you go abroad, you’re not always given the best opportunities because domestic players take precedence.”

She argued that investment should focus on markets with high talent but limited infrastructure. “There is so much talent in Asia and Africa,” she said. “The only thing missing is opportunity.”

She also emphasized how investment could stretch further in developing regions.

She said $400 million in Canada’s National Women’s Soccer League “might get you two or three franchises. But that same amount in developing regions could build an entire league with strong infrastructure.”

Muhtaj pointed to Saudi Arabia as “an example of how quickly opportunity can transform the environment for women players.”

Topics: World Football Summit (WFS) Farkhunda Muhtaj Eileen Gleeson

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