Spotlight on Madrid derby in Champions League

MADRID (AP):

The Madrid derby takes centre 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 rivals Real Madrid in the European competition.

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

But this Atletico team arrives for today's first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium playing some of their best football since coach Diego Simeone took over more than a decade ago, and showing the confidence that they can take on the long-time rivals 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 play-off 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 their best seasons under Simeone. The team is ahead of its rivals in the Spanish league standings, and is only one point behind leaders Barcelona.

Atletico have not lost any of their matches this season against either Madrid or Barcelona. In the Spanish league, they beat the Catalan club 2-1 in Barcelona and drew 1-1 in both games they played against Madrid.

"It's a match with a lot of respect, against a great rival, who respects us in the same way." Simeone said yesterday. "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 were only 11th and had to play extra playoff games against Manchester City.

The last time Atletico faced Madrid in the Champions League, they were eliminated in the semi-finals in 2017. They also lost to Madrid in the final both in 2014 and 2016, and in the 2015 quarterfinals.

"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."

PSG vs Liverpool

English Premier League leaders Liverpool finished the league phase in first place but there was little reward as they 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 they 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 champions from advancing to the knockout stage at the time.

PSV vs Arsenal

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

They will now 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 trail 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.