Atletico Madrid resumes its Champions League campaign against PSV

The Philips Stadium in Eindhoven and a very similar PSV to the one they defeated on penalties in the Round of 16 of last season's tournament mark the restart of Atletico Madrid in its Champions League adventure, the team's biggest ambition, runners-up in two of the last three editions.

Three and a half months after losing in a penalty shootout against Real Madrid in the final in Milan; two years after the final against the same opponent in Lisbon with a cruel ending in extra time; and 42 years since their defeat in a title-deciding match against Bayern Munich, Atletico continues to pursue the trophy that is missing from their cabinet, the biggest one.

"We will continue to fight for a common dream (the Champions League) that we all Atlético fans have," announced Uruguayan Diego Godín this summer, when the team took its first steps in preseason at the Los Ángeles de San Rafael complex in Segovia. It is the challenge for the red and white team in this season.

The team has come close twice since Argentine Diego Simeone became coach, eliminating Barcelona twice in the last three campaigns, defeating Bayern in the semifinals of the previous season, and Chelsea three seasons ago in the same round... But they have yet to reach the summit. Now, a new assault begins.

And it starts at the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven. Just six months ago, they played and drew in the first leg of the Champions League against the same opponents, and now they face PSV, the current Dutch champions, unbeaten this season with four wins and two draws, and a demanding rival that has already shown its competitiveness.

It is a crucial match. In a group that also includes Bayern Munich and Rostov, a victory in the Netherlands would be an important step forward for the Madrid team, reinvigorated with an impressive second half, an emphatic victory, and four goals last Saturday against Celta de Vigo (0-4).

A comforting boost for Atletico, who rediscovered their scoring ability, which was the main cause of their two previous draws against Alaves and Leganes, before the start of this edition of the Champions League, the fourth in a row for Simeone's team, which is not expected to make many changes to the starting eleven on Tuesday.

Slovenian Jan Oblak is a certainty in goal; the defense has been the same in the first three La Liga matchdays and will remain unchanged in Eindhoven, with Juanfran Torres, Stefan Savic, Diego Godín, and Filipe Luis; in midfield, Gabi Fernandez, Koke Resurreccion, and Saul Ñiguez will likely start; and Antoine Griezmann is an undisputed starter in attack.

Among these certainties, there are two positions in the starting eleven that are still uncertain. Yannick Carrasco will probably start on one wing, although the coach also has the option of including another central midfielder, Tiago Mendes or Augusto Fernandez, and the forward position is a choice between Fernando Torres, who started last Saturday in Vigo, or Kevin Gameiro.

On the other side, PSV Eindhoven, the Dutch champions coached for the third consecutive season by former Barcelona midfielder Phillip Cocu, comes from a 4-0 victory over NEC Nimega in their fifth league match, where they are currently second, two points behind Feyenoord, and has a similar squad to last season.

The next opponent for the red and whites, who scored an early goal in the 4th minute, played particularly well in the first 25 minutes, during which they scored the four goals that gave them the victory, with goals from Dutch players Joshua Brenet, Bart Ramselaar, and Luuk De Jong, and Uruguayan Gaston Pereiro.

"We had a very disciplined first half and did not lose concentration after the break," said the coach, who usually plays with a 4-3-3 formation, although he modified that scheme in the last two encounters against Atletico. He emphasized that this comfortable victory will "boost morale" for the match on Tuesday.

The core of the Dutch team will be the same as the one that faced Diego Simeone's men six months ago in the Round of 16, which ended with two goalless draws and was decided in a penalty shootout, seven years after the Mexican Javier Aguirre's Atletico defeated the Dutch side 0-3 in the Champions League group stage, the only victory for Atletico in their six European competition visits to the Netherlands.