Milan x Atletico Madrid – Palpite & Prognóstico (28.09.2021)

Stadio San Siro (Giuseppe Meazza) will host Group B derby between Milan and Atletico Madrid, the two teams who are eyeing their first win of the process. The Rossoneri produced a fine display in a 3-2 loss to Liverpool at Anfield, and they are surely capable of beating los Rojiblancos at home ground. All Florenzi, Bakayoko, Ibrahimovic, Krunic, and Pizzari are likely to miss the game with injuries, while captain Simon Kjaer is a major doubt.

Paolo Maldini’s son Daniel is pushing for a start after opening his goal-scoring account in the 2-1 win over Spezia at the weekend. Atletico Madrid do not seem to be at their sharpest ahead of the trip to Italy, and given their anything but good display in a 1-0 loss to rock-bottom Deportivo Alaves, home win should be considered. Thomas Lemar should be the only absentee in the away team.

HIGHLIGHTED PLAYER

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a Swedish footballer of Bosnian descent. Ibra was born in Malmo on 3 October, 1981 and, as a result, he decided to represent Sweden on the international stage. The 195-cm-tall attacker started his senior career at Malmo and in 2011 he moved to Ajax.

Ibrahimovic was producing outstanding performances for the Amsterdammers from 2001 to 2004 and, as a result, he was linked with a move with several European giants. In 2004 he signed a deal with Juventus for a fee of €16 million. Ibra scored 23 goals in 70 league games with the Bianconeri and he won two Serie A trophies with club (both revoked due to the Calciopoli scandal). He played for Inter and Milan in the past as well and he was part of Barcelona between 2009 and 2011.

In 2012 he moved to PSG and it has to be noted that he won for Ligue 1 trophies with les Parisiens. After scoring on his last game for PSG against Nantes, he joined Manchester United in the summer of 2016. Ibrahimovic represented Sweden at several major tournaments.

HIGHLIGHTED TEAM

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid are a Spanish team that plays in Primera Division (La Liga). Los Rojiblancos or los Colchoneros play their home matches at Estadio Vicente Calderon, which holds up to 54,960 spectators. Atletico Madrid have won 10 La Liga titles, but they have yet to lift the European Cup (Champions League) trophy.

Los Rojiblancos have won 10 Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) trophies and it has to be noted that they defeated their bitter local rivals Real Madrid in the 2012/2013 Spanish Cup final. The rivalry between the two capital clubs is pretty big and El Madrileno is regarded as one of the most exciting derbies in the world football.

Atletico Madrid played two Champions League finals under Diego Simeone, but they failed to beat Real Madrid in the title games (2013/2014 and 2015/2016). However, the Argentine tactician helped Atletico Madrid win the La Liga trophy in 2014 and, no doubt, he is one of the most successful coaches in the history of the capital club.