Angel Correa aware of the damage Cristiano Ronaldo can inflict on Atletico

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Angel Correa can see similarities between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United this season ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League first-leg.

Correa has been speaking to Television Espanola via AS in the run-up to the Champions League tie against Ralf Rangnick’s men.

Just like United, Diego Simeone’s side are facing a battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

The rojiblanco’s currently lie fifth in La Liga and are one point behind Barcelona, who occupy the fourth spot, having played a game more.

Speaking on facing United, the Argentine said: “They are going through a similar situation to ours.

“They score a lot of goals. The two teams are very similar. We want to dedicate the victory at home to the fans.”

One man that will strike fear into the reigning La Liga champions is Cristiano Ronaldo.

The great Portuguese has scored 25 goals and registered nine assists from the 35 matches he has played against the Spanish giants.

Atletico are the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s favourite opposition when it comes to finding the back of the net.

Ronaldo, the Champions League’s all-time top goalscorer, has scored in all five of his appearance in Europe’s top club competition this season.

When asked about the threat Ronaldo will pose, Correa said: “It’s not just Cristiano [that’s the threat at United], but he’s done us a lot of damage in other games.”

Correa, who will be facing Manchester United for the first time in his career, is Atletico’s top scorer this season with 12 goals and five assists from 34 matches.

The Argentine international came off the bench to score Atletico’s third in the 3-0 win against Osasuna on Saturday.

Luis Suarez and Joao Felix, who both scored at the Estadio El Sadar, led the line for Simeone’s side against the Pamplona-based opposition.

With El Cholo already being without Daniel Wass, Matheus Cunha and Yannick Carrasco for the visit of the Red Devils, alongside the doubts surrounding Thomas Lemar, Simeone’s selection headache could grow further.

According to MARCA, Koke did not train today with the group ‘due to some discomfort that endangers his presence’.

It’s likely that Koke’s absence from training was nothing more than a precaution, but it would be a huge boost to United if the red-and-white captain was unavailable in Simeone’s engine room.