Atletico Madrid are Champions League semi-finalists and they are not who you think they are

There were roars of joy around Atletico Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano after Diego Simeone’s team sealed progress to the Champions League semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Barcelona on Tuesday night.Atletico were defending frantically through the closing stages against their La Liga rivals, and the sight of defender Matteo Ruggeri covered in blood was a nod to their recent past, but over the two legs they showed they are no longer the Atletico Madrid that you think they are. They played attacking football and showed an inability to defend solidly, which makes them very different from previous Simeone teams to have reached this stage of the competition.Advertisement