Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has sung the praises of AC Milan, insisting that he expects a tough game against a team he knows well given his past at Inter.
Simeone’s men enter the Champions League showdown on the back of their first defeat in La Liga, to lowly Deportivo Alaves, who were winless until they met Atletico on the weekend.
The Rossoneri welcome the Rojiblancos after narrowly edging out Spezia at the Stadio Alberto Picco. Both Atletico and Milan will be looking get their first wins in the competition and Simeone believes a special San Siro awaits them on Tuesday evening.
“I am happy to return to Italy where I have had excellent experiences both as a player and as a coach. San Siro is special. It is a pleasure to play games of this prestige like many years ago,” he said.
When quizzed about what he expects from Stefano Pioli’s troops, Simeone commented: “It will be tough because AC Milan is an organised, dynamic team that scores excellent results especially at home. I saw them against Liverpool, they did well with a manager who knows how to convey his ideas.”
The Argentine tactician sees not only an ‘organised, dynamic’ Milan but a ‘fast’ and’ ‘vertical’ side, but he expects his men to be calm going into the clash.
He said: “We are calm, both for tomorrow’s match and for the group. We know well that we are facing a strong, fast Milan that plays vertically. But we play do our game.”
This will be the first clash between the two teams since the 2013-14 UCL campaign – incidentally the same season when Milan last appeared in the competition, being knocked out by Cholo Simeone’s impressive Atletico team who beat Milan 5-1 on aggregate.
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