Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea: Albert Ferrer predicts ‘tough’ Champions League test against Diego Simeone

Tom Doyle22 February 2021

Chelsea face a tall order against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, with former Blues defender Albert Ferrer predicting an extremely “tough” test for Thomas Tuchel’s side over two legs.

Despite finishing top of Group E to qualify for the last-16 of the competition, Chelsea ended up with one of the most difficult draws of the knockout stages after Atletico ended up second in Group A to Bayern Munich.

Atletico are currently top of LaLiga, and have conceded just 16 goals in 23 league matches to enhance Diego Simeone’s reputation as one of the top defensive coaches in European football.

Tuchel will know that chances may be few and far between against Atletico, so Chelsea will be under pressure to show real ruthlessness across the two legs - a characteristic that has all too often been lacking from this Blues team this season.

Ferrer, who played for Chelsea between 1998 and 2003 before retiring, believes the Blues are up against it given Atletico’s form this term.

Speaking at a LaLiga event to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Spanish top flight, Ferrer said: "It's gonna be tough because Atletico are a team that is so difficult for them to concede goals.

"I think that Chelsea are doing well, but Atletico de Madrid in two games? That's a tough one.

"If you asked the top teams in Spain, I think no-one would want to draw Atletico Madrid.

"If you go to Europe, possibly I wouldn't say that in two games it will even be more difficult to play Atletico de Madrid than play Barcelona or Real Madrid, so it's gonna be a tough one for Chelsea."

Catch all of this season’s LaLiga action on LaLigaTV from just £6.99 a month via Sky channel 435, Virgin TV channel 554, streaming on the Premier Player service and now via Amazon Prime Video Channels as an add-on subscription.

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