Manchester United will face Atletico Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League. And it is not going to be an easy tie by any stretch of the imagination even though the Spanish giants are not in the best form right now. They are the reigning La Liga champions but have not made a good start to their title defence, currently sitting at fourth in the league table behind Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Betis.
Their form in Europe has not been great either. While they did make it to the knockout phase of the competition, they managed only 7 points in the group stage, finishing 11 points behind Liverpool.
But there are some brilliant players in this Atletico Madrid squad that Manchester United will need to keep quiet if they are to make the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Luis Suarez is one such player.
And the Uruguayan’s recent comments suggest that Atletico Madrid are not taking Manchester United lightly at all. As reported by AS, Suarez said:
"“To win the Champions League you have to win the best. And United is one of the best.”"
Suarez comments on facing Manchester United in the Champions League
One of the best players of this generation, it was a huge surprise when Barcelona allowed Suarez to leave last season. In hindsight, it proved to be a big mistake on their part.
Suarez joined Atletico Madrid and ended up playing a massive part in their La Liga title win, proving that he is still a top player even at the age of 34. And while the Spanish giants have struggled this season, the striker is still putting up decent numbers in front of goal.
Manchester United have managed to steady the ship ever since the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as well though and are unbeaten in the last six games across all competitions. Thus, this could prove to be a tight contest between two very good teams.
The tie is still a couple of months away though and it remains to be seen where the two sides stand at that point of time.