Marcos Llorente says Atletico players are wary of Manchester United’s whole team and not just Cristiano Ronaldo

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Atletico Madrid came through the first leg keeping Cristiano Ronaldo at bay in the Champions League tie last month. The second leg could be more challenging.

Back in 2019, Atletico shut Ronaldo’s Juventus out in Spain – before he demolished them with a hat-trick in the second leg.

Ronaldo showed his hat-trick prowess is still as fearsome as ever with a spectacular treble for Manchester United against Tottenham on Saturday night.

For Atletico, facing a Ronaldo who has scored 25 goals against them in the past is a daunting prospect, even if they don’t want to focus on it.

Midfield star Marcos Llorente faced the media ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford, and was asked if Atletico were worried about Ronaldo.

Responding to AS, Llorente tackled the question from a wider perspective, responding: “With players like that you have to be careful and not only with Cristiano. He has other great players with a very high level and you have to be aware of all of them.”

He is right, Atletico can’t get drawn into focusing too much on Ronaldo. Jadon Sancho has scored against them with Dortmund, while Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes are all capable of doing damage, along with goalscorer from the first leg, Anthony Elanga.

Llorente added that he knows Atletico are in for a tough game, but wanted to stress that they feel prepared for the task ahead, commenting: “A difficult match. They play at home, we know the good things they have, we have worked on it these days, the team is more than prepared to compete, to do the things that the coaching staff asks of us.”

Simeone ready to counter United

Atletico boss Diego Simeone also spoke to the media and told AS they believe they can do damage to United on the counter attack, a comment spoken out of confidence, and a mind-game to perhaps make United more hesitant in attack.

Simeone said: “We will have the counterattack to take advantage of any mistake they may have.”

The Argentine added that he expects a ‘dynamic match’, and also described this season as his ‘most complex’ at the club since he took charge, admitting it had taken a lot to reach this point.

He was also asked about the PSG job, due to rumours which have cropped up abroad in recent days, which he quickly dismissed by moving the question back towards tonight’s match.