Atlético Madrid vs Juventus: Champions League last 16, first leg – live! | Soccer

And that's the end of a very competitive first half. Ronaldo came close with a free kick. The hosts were on the verge of a penalty, but VAR said no. Apart from that, it's the close fight that we hoped for. Quite entertaining, however, and while Simeone shakes his head, annoyed by the anger of some, the attitude of his team expects his team to be fully competitive when it reappears.

45 min +3: Thomas's attack in Dybala, which goes nowhere in the middle of the park. This is a surprise booking, in more ways than one, and another Atletico player will miss the first leg.

45 min +1: Nope. It's easy to manage. Koke's blooters are disappearing … directly into poor De Sciglio's surprise coupon! Ooyah, oof, it must hurt. The defender of Juve falls to be revived by the magic sponge.

45 min: Alex Sandro dribbles on the left and buys a Godin corner. One last chance for a goal in the first half.

44 min: A brave half is out of breath.

42 min: Ronaldo is on the ground and is holding his left ankle, Saul Niguez standing on his foot. For a second, it sounds serious as Ronaldo raises his arm and remains tilted. But the referee does not have a bar and Ronaldo ends up sitting down. He does not make the decision, but at least he is not hurt.

40 min: Mandzukic and Dybala fly the ball in the opposite direction. They almost opened Atletico, but Thomas is wise towards them and closes the space just as Dybala threatens to enter the area and shoot.

38 min: Juve spends most of the two minutes stroking it in the middle of the park. Local fans are not impressed and whistle accordingly. On the sideline, Simeone begins to waver and scream in the horns of the fourth official. Costa, who wants to see himself having already booked, joins the philosophical debate. A nice advantage to this game.

36 min: Griezmann pulls from a distance. A big deviation wins a corner on the left. Koke takes. Rodri has too much to do on a shot close to the post and the ball goes over the bar.

34 min: Suddenly, Dybala burst into a small space along the left inner cbad. He makes a shot to the right of 25 meters, but he is not framed and Oblak claims it easily.

33 min: Juve strokes the ball while whistles continue to ring around the Metropolitano. For the first time since kickoff, there is some lull.

31 min: The crowd is livid beyond, as you imagined from such a VAR decision. It was the right choice, even if there was not much. The fans scream and scream as Ronaldo mingles with Juanfran; no reservation. Then Costa is flagged offside as he pursues a long ball on the left. The lineman gets a good ear. He is now boiling, a belligerent waterbath.

29 min: Atletico gives off a smoke. Then, Griezmann throws the free-kick on the right, in the left corner of the surface, at the top left. Szczesny makes a song and dance by pushing it around the post, then Juve arranges the corner without any problem.

27 min: Koke sweeps through the park at full speed. He pbades a pbad in the left inside channel for Diego Costa, who pushes the ball forward and runs after. De Sciglio ties Costa's heel. Costa pbades in the area. The ref points to the place. But then, the punishment was canceled by VAR, the initial contact having been established outside the surface. Just a free kick, then.

25 min: Griezmann almost sends Juanfran to the right. The full back would have been in acres, but the pbad was not all that and Alex Sandro is capable of doing enough to put an end to his gallop. This is a good opportunity to worry about Juventus.

23 min: Ronaldo makes a wide pbad to the left for Alex Sandro, who makes a high crossing. Mandzukic climbs the highest and hopes to send a header to the top left, but the ball sails safely on the crossbar.

21 min: Atletico pin Juve back. A little tennis head in the box. Eventually, the ball lands on dry land and Koke turns around through the right inner channel in the hope of finding Griezmann again. It's very close to being brilliant, but the ball takes a bit of deflection off the striker, allowing Szczesny to bite.

19 min: Bentancur almost risks causing Chiellini trouble with a loose back pbad, Griezmann sniffing. But the defender is alert to the danger and remains firm. Juve goes up the other end, Mandzukic almost making room for a shot from the edge of the box. Not enough. It's a proper and very entertaining battle.

17 min: Dybala is this close to returning Ronaldo on the right wing with a quarterback pbad. But Godin reads it well to perform a crucial interception. Suggestions of the defender's handball, but the referee continues to play.

15 minutes: Thomas sends a speculative effort to the bottom left corner of Juve's goal at 25 yards. It's a real belt of good sense, and Szczesny will fall asleep very well and smother the fierce daisycutter. It's very entertaining.

13 min: A free kick for Atletico near the central circle. Griezmann flutters it for a long time and wins a corner, the ball shaving De Sciglio's head. From the corner, Juve is unleashed, Dybala almost bypbades the last man, Juanfran. But the ball sits up on his arm and the referee whistles a free kick. Atletico puts pressure on the referee to issue a yellow card. They are on one tonight.

12 min: Ronaldo has another look at the goal, this time from far to the right. He is diverted for a corner. The fixed piece finds Bonucci's head ten meters. He must score, but he sends his effort over the bar. It was a start; this match promises to be an adventure.

10 minutes: Costa's lid is slamming. Inside his head, a pressure cooker is desperate to overflow. He wins in the referee's grid when he gets caught in the middle by Matuidi. He asks for a fee, but the referee is not interested. Costa has to simmer. Let's see if he spent the evening, my old football-loving friends.

9 min: Ronaldo, made irritable by the wait, takes a sensational free kick towards the upper left corner. He's a real heat hunter, but Oblak raises his arm to turn it around. The corner is a non-event.

8 min: Ronaldo fights to score the free kick, but it's a false start, as Diego Costa has infringed. This is a ridiculous reservation which means it will no longer be in the second stage! What high-end buffoonery.

7 min: Ronaldo, formerly of the Real group, is recruiting all kinds of skins. As you might expect. The hissing almost removes the roof as it skids into the left interior cbad. He was attacked by Gimenez, which is a foul 30 meters from goal. Ronaldo opens his legs, settles down and you know what will follow.

5 min: Griezmann plunges the ball past two static midfielders of Juve and enters a huge space along the left inner cbad. He should probably try his luck by reaching the edge of the box, but tries to find Costa with a pretty diagonal pbad. It's not precise enough and Szczesny hbadle-free.

4 min: Atletico arrives again at Juve, Costa winning a corner on the right. The resulting playoff is a total loss of time, sent directly from the game by Koke, but the start is fast and impressive.

2 min: They do not receive any, even after checking with the old dealer. The referee limits himself to spoiling the captain of Atletico, Godin, for arguing the point a bit too loudly.

1 minute: Juve sends the ball long after the kickoff, and it is in the hands of Oblak, who raises it. Costa's going away. Griezmann almost gets the better of Chiellini, but not quite. The ball is knocked out for a shot to the left of which Griezmann pulls from the left edge of the area. It's wide and high, but is caught by Matuidi. There does not seem to be much inside, but Atletico surrounds the referee to ask for a penalty.

And we left! Juve get a noisy party started. It's a sensational atmosphere, in a beautiful stadium. European football at its best.

The teams are outside! They are a little late, after some endless crossings in the tunnel, but anyway, there is always a wonderful atmosphere at Metropolitano! The place is bounce. Atletico are in their … we covered that. Ciaran Crowther said: "I think the winner of this meeting has a good chance of winning the Champions League, surprised that many experts are exchanging these two teams. in favor of series throttles like PSG or Man City. As they say in American football: the offensive wins the games, the defense wins the championships. And you can certainly say that both teams have winning defenses in the championship as well as an appropriate firepower. "

Kit watching. Guests will wear their traditional red and white stripes inspired by mattresses, which are not on the back of the shirt and are therefore not illustrated below. No need to thank us.

Meanwhile, Juve will wear his third choice of all-black shirts. Cristiano Ronaldo (No. 7) is naturally more interesting than Wojciech Szczesny (No. 1) but it makes the countdown very unsatisfactory. My apologies to fans of space rocket launches, Manfred Mann and the retro confectionery.

Atletico brings four changes to the team named for the 1-0 win at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. Thomas, Koke, Juanfran and Diego Costa are present. Santiago Arias, Ángel Correa and Alvaro Morata are relegated to the bench, while Alejandro Galvez is totally absent.

Juve brings three changes to the team selected for the 3-0 home win against Frosinone last Friday. Miralem Pjanić, Alex Sandro and Blaise Matuidi are back, replacing the benches on the benches of João Cancelo and Emre Can, as well as Sami Khedira, injured.

Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin, Luis Filipe, Koké, Thomas, Rodri, Saul, Griezmann, Costa.
Subs: Adan, Arias, Kalinic, Correa, Lemar, Savic, Morata.

Juventus: Szczesny, De Sciglio, Bonucci, Chiellini, Sandro Alex, Bentancur, Pjanic, Matuidi, Dybala, Mandzukic, Ronaldo.
Subs: Perin, Caceres, Joao Cancelo, Can, Rugani, Bernardeschi, Spinazzola.

Arbitrator: Felix Zwayer (Germany).

It is guaranteed that it will be another close year for at least one of the teams close to the last seasons. Atletico Madrid and Juventus have both competed twice in the last five years, but none of them won the trophy during this period. Atlético has been denied by his rival from the city, the Real, in 2014 and 2016; Juve was defeated by Barcelona in 2015 and by Real in 2017. Only one of them will still have the opportunity to repair these wrongs once this match has ended.

Atlético will be particularly eager to reach the final again, as this season it will play in its own Estadio Metropolitano. Diego Simeone's team is not in the best shape, having only won four of its last nine games in all competitions. But all is not bad news. Antoine Griezmann has very hot shoes at the moment, with ten goals in his last 11 appearances. Los Colchoneros – the defending champions of the Europa League – have won their last eight European home games. They are unbeaten in 12 home games in the Champions League. And they have won their last five home games against Italian teams. A lot to go there.

The poor results of Juve against the Spanish teams will also give heart to Atlético. the Bianconeri have only won three of their last nine games in Spain (the last two against Real Madrid and Valencia). In total, they lost 16 of their 28 games away against La Liga teams. But then their current form is where they will draw inspiration. Mbadimiliano Allegri's men are still undefeated in Serie A. Cristiano Ronaldo has already scored 21 goals in Juve's welts. Some come back for the 34-year-old who has only played 32 games. It really depends on how you look at it.

Both defenses are mean, so it can be tense rather than exciting. Once again, everyone was expecting a match at Anfield last night and look what happened there. We hope to see a few flights as two European giants vie for a place in the quarter-finals of the 2018-19 Champions League. They are the finalists of 1974, 2014 and 2016 against the winners of 1985 and 1996! It's on!

Start: 20h GMT, 21h local.