København v Atlético background
Having suddenly forsaken out of a UEFA Champions League, Atlético Madrid start their office of a third UEFA Europa League pretension in a Danish capital, where they accommodate an FC København side behest to make it by to a competition’s final 16 for a second year running.
• Atlético are a usually prior UEFA Europa League winners active in a turn of 32, a other 4 – Porto, Chelsea, Sevilla and holders Manchester United – carrying all progressed to a knockout proviso of a UEFA Champions League.
Previous meetings
• This is usually one of dual UEFA Europa League turn of 32 ties in that a dual teams have formerly met, a other being Marseille-Braga.
• The European story between a dual clubs comprises usually a singular match, that Atlético won 2-0 in Copenhagen in a 2007/08 UEFA Cup organisation theatre interjection to a idea in possibly half from Simão and Sergio Agüero. Current København manager Ståle Solbakken was in assign of a hosts during a time, with Mexican Javier Aguirre heading Atlético to a attainment that helped them by to a subsequent round.
• København are nonetheless to win in 10 European matches opposite Spanish clubs, carrying drawn dual and mislaid 3 both home and away.
• Atlético’s usually other games opposite Danish antithesis occurred in a 1974/75 UEFA Cup initial round, when they won 6-3 on total (2-3 away, 4-0 home) opposite Kjøbenhavns BK (KB for short) – one of a clubs that joined to form FC København in 1992.
Form guide
• København competent for a turn of 32 as runners-up in Group F interjection to a higher head-to-head record over FC Sheriff, who they degraded 2-0 during home on matchday six.
• That attainment over a Moldovan champions gave FCK a third true purify piece during home in a organisation stage, emulating their attainment in final season’s UEFA Champions League organisation stage. Solbakken’s organisation have suffered usually one better in their final 14 European games in Copenhagen, winning 9 of them.
• UEFA Europa League victors in 2010 and 2012, Atlético are creation their initial coming in a foe in 5 years. Since afterwards Diego Simeone’s side have seemed in dual UEFA Champions League finals and reached a quarter-finals and semi-finals in dual other seasons.
• Atlético have won usually dual of their final 9 European fixtures (D4 L3) and nothing of their final 5 on a road, scoring usually dual goals over a latter stretch. They did, however, pull all 3 divided games in this season’s UEFA Champions League, during Roma (0-0), QarabaÄŸ (0-0) and Chelsea (1-1).
• København are in a UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League turn of 32 for a fourth time. Their usually success during this theatre of a foe came final deteriorate when, carrying separated over from a UEFA Champions League, they overcame Ludogorets Razgrad, a 2-1 win in Bulgaria preceding a goalless pull during Parken. They exited in a following turn after losing 3-2 on total to Ajax.
• Champions of Denmark in 2016/17, FCK were degraded on divided goals by QarabaÄŸ in this season’s UEFA Champions League play-offs, carrying separated Žilina and Vardar in a dual prior subordinate rounds.
• Atlético finished third in a Spanish Liga final season, and this is usually a second time in 8 attempts that they have unsuccessful to swell over a organisation theatre of a UEFA Champions League. However, on a usually other occasion, in 2009/10, they went on to win a initial UEFA Europa League.
Links and trivia
• Midfielder William Kvist is a survivor, along with manager Solbakken, of a FCK side that mislaid to Atlético in a 2007/08 UEFA Cup.
• FCK’s Swedish goalkeeper Robin Olsen and Atlético’s French striker Antoine Griezmann faced any other twice in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers; Griezmann did not measure in possibly game, any finale in a 2-1 home win.
• Kvist and Griezmann are set to be in antithesis during a World Cup finals in Russia as Denmark accommodate France in Moscow on 26 June.
• Seeking a third unbroken Danish Superliga title, FCK were down in sixth place, 18 points adrift of leaders FC Midtjylland, during a winter break.
The coaches
• StÃ¥le Solbakken’s second coaching reign during København began in 2013. He has won 7 Danish titles with FCK, 5 of those carrying come in his initial spell from 2006 to 2011. The former Norway midfielder, who won 58 caps and scored 9 goals for his country, appearing during both a 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000, has also been in assign of Köln and Wolverhampton.
• Diego Simeone has been a Atlético manager given Dec 2011, and has combined 5 trophies to a club’s collection, including a 2011/12 UEFA Europa League, as good as steering a Madrid bar to a UEFA Champions League finals of 2014 and 2016. The warlike ex-Argentina midfielder also had dual spells during Atlético as a player, winning a Spanish double in 1995/96.