UCL Odds: Atleti Risk Another Elimination to Real Madrid
Atlético Madrid (+175) vs. Real Madrid (+170), Draw (+265)
After a 3-0 thumping in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal, Atletico Madrid is on track to be eliminated by their Madrid rivals once again. They face a near-impossible challenge on Wednesday (May 10th) when they meet for the second leg.
Anyone who saw the first leg shouldn’t be too hopeful of Atletico’s chances. Real Madrid opened the scoring early in the 10th minute and was never at risk of giving up the lead. Atleti had no response, ending the game with just one shot on target.
Striker Antoine Griezmann was effectively shut out of the game and an underperforming Kevin Gameiro gave way to Fernando Torres, who wasn’t much better. That’s been typical of the Madrid Derby this season. Of the three times the teams have met, Atletico have only scored one to Madrid’s seven.
The three goals came from none other than Cristiano Ronaldo. Ever since the Portuguese megastar turned 30, there’s been speculation of his decline. But with his form this season, Ronaldo has silenced all critics. He put up a whopping five goals against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals, picking up his 100th Champions League goal. Now, he’s got a semifinal hattrick to his name.
Atletico have a three-goal deficit to close with no away goals to help. They would have trouble accomplishing that against a mid-table La Liga side, so it’s pretty much impossible against Real Madrid. Atletico won’t be able to sit back and play on the counter-attack, either. If they want a high-scoring game, they’ll have to take the initiative and face the risks that come with it.
If Atleti comes up short, it’ll be their fourth consecutive Champions League elimination at the hands of Los Blancos. In the last three years, they’ve lost two nail-biting Champions League finals to their rivals.
And just to add insult to injury, Madrid has announced they’ll be poaching Atletico’s 19-year-old rising star, Lucas Hernandez. So it appears Real is hell bent on robbing them of both their stars and their Champions League hopes.
Pick: Real Madrid (+170)
Don Aguero is a man of many talents, writing about nearly anything you can put odds to. Don has been writing for SportsBettingDime since 2015, covering sports, entertainment and politics. You name it, he's covered it! He is also a steadfast West Ham fan, and has learned to embrace that suffering.
