PSV faces a new challenge in the UEFA Champions League next Tuesday. Atletico Madrid comes to the Philips Stadium for the fourth time in history in an official game. The last time PSV and Atletico Madrid met was nine years ago.
Historically, the Spaniards have a clear advantage. In the six official duels both teams played, Atletico Madrid drew the longest each time. The first confrontation in September 2008 ended in a convincing 0-3 win for the Madrilenians, after which Atletico Madrid won 2-1 at home in the return the same year. Eight years later, on Feb. 24, 2016, it remained 0-0 in Eindhoven. The return match in Madrid, played on March 15, also ended without goals after 90 minutes. Only after a long penalty shootout series of 16 penalties did Atletico decide the game and reach the quarterfinals. In September 2016, Atletico Madrid won in Eindhoven (0-1), followed by a 2-0 victory in Madrid two months later. Since that last match, of course, both selections have changed considerably.
Loyal player group
It is noteworthy that four players who appeared at the kickoff in 2016, Griezmann, Koke, Giménez (currently injured) and Oblak, are still, or in the case of Griezmann again, playing for Atletico Madrid nine years later. Goalkeeper Oblak, in particular, is a regular; he has defended Atletico's goal since 2014 and has now played more than 500 official matches for the club.
In addition, coach Diego Simeone has been at the helm of Atletico Madrid since 2011 and was thus also involved in most of the duels with PSV. The Argentine coach has now managed more than 750 games at the Madrid squad.
Atletico Madrid's vicissitudes on tour
Atletico Madrid is in excellent form at home, where it has won ten of its last ten games. Away from home, however, things have not gone as smoothly: only against Real Betis and Getafe have they taken three points. Moreover, Diego Simeone's team is struggling with several injuries. Marcos Llorente, José María Giménez and Álex Baena have not recovered in time for the meeting with PSV, while Clément Lenglet, who was injured last Saturday, is also out of action. On foreign soil, the La Liga number four side wins only 37.5 percent of its matches, a big contrast to its overwhelming home winning percentage of 91.6.
In the UEFA Champions League, Atletico Madrid has so far recorded three wins and suffered two defeats. Against Liverpool it went down 3-2, and later the team suffered a painful 4-0 defeat against Arsenal.
Scoring power
PSV is in a stable position in Europe. In the UEFA Champions League, two games were won, two drawn and one lost. The goal production is also well distributed: the eleven goals were distributed among six different players. Guus Til and Ivan Perišić each scored once, while Ismael Saibari, Ricardo Pepi and Dennis Man all scored twice. Couhaib Driouech is club top scorer in the tournament for the time being with three goals.
Couhaib impressed with his substitutions. In the home game against SSC Napoli, he struck the goal after only five minutes following his substitution, and in the away game against Liverpool he needed only three minutes to score.