Manchester United have a few games ahead to improve before the Champions League last 16 ties with Atletico Madrid.
The good news is that Atletico are struggling badly themselves too. Diego Simeone’s side were beaten 4-2 by Barcelona last night.
A big problem was highlighted for them at their full-back positions, which United could be able to take full advantage of.
Since Atletico sold Kieran Trippier to Newcastle for £12 million in January, his exit has left a void at right-back.
Atletico started Sime Vrsaljko at the position against Barcelona and the move backfired as he was hooked at half-time. Whoscored.com rated his performance at just 5.6 out of 10.
Spanish newspaper AS cited ‘constant defensive errors’ as reason for the change, with Atletico 3-1 down.
His replacement was new signing Daniel Wass, a January addition from Valencia. He had a debut to forget.
At the end of the match Wass suffered a knee injury and had to be helped off the pitch. Simeone told AS he has to be assessed, and there is a possibility he faces a substantial spell on the sidelines.
This could leave Atletico with only Vrsaljko at right-back, while their options on the left are not too good either.
Mario Hermoso started at left-back and his performance also left a lot to be desired, rated just 5.9 by WhoScored.com. He was given the runaround by new Barcelona signing Adama Traore and simply could not compete, with the Wolves loanee providing an assist on his debut.
Hermoso was substituted after 55 minutes for striker Matheus Cunha as Simeone reshuffled and tried to get back into the game, without success.
United’s wingers can exploit Atletico troubles
Jadon Sancho already has a goal against Atletico Madrid on his CV. He was bright in United’s FA Cup defeat, making quick, sharp runs on the shoulder of the defence. A team with full-back problems like Atletico currently have, can be exploited.
The pace of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga can also cause problems in the same way Adama did last night.
Atletico won’t make it easy of course, Diego Simeone will have a plan, but it is fair to question whether he has the players to effectively implement it.
Selling Trippier has weakened Atletico’s defence, and they have attacking issues too. Antoine Griezmann missed last night’s game with injury and faces a battle to be back for the first leg, while winger Yannick Carrasco is suspended for both matches.
United are hardly without fault right now ourselves, but this is a winnable two-legged tie, and United should be hopeful of reaching the last eight.
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