Tottenham will be hoping to channel their one and only meeting with Atletico Madrid
We now know that Tottenham will take on Atletico Madrid in the next round of the Champions League, and it’s a rare encounter for both these sides.
Having finished in the top eight spots in the league phase of the Champions League, Spurs have had to sit tight and watch the play-off teams fight it out to join them in the knockout stages.
It was a toss-up between the La Liga outfit and Galatasaray, but it is Atletico Madrid who will face Tottenham in the last-16.
There isn’t a lot of history to go on in order to inform our predictions for this one, though, with just one past meeting between the two teams.
What happened last time Tottenham played Atletico Madrid?
You have to go all the way back to 1963 for the one and only meeting between Spurs and Atletico Madrid. That game was the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final, and it’s safe to say the Lilywhites got the better of their Spanish counterparts on the night.
At the Stadion Feyenoord in front of just over 49,000 fans, Tottenham marched to a 5-1 win and lifted the coveted contintental super cup. Spurs legend Bill Nicholson oversaw the win to lift yet another trophy with the club.
Tottenham were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to goals from Jimmy Greaves and John White. But, Atletico responded immediately after the break to reduce the deficit.
From there, though, Tottenham turned on the style. Terry Dyson bagged two, as well as adding two assists, while Jimmy Greaves also added to his tally to secure the win and the trophy.
Spurs Champions League record in the modern era
If Spurs can beat Atletico, they will have an equally tough quarter-final tie against Barcelona or Newcastle. Indeed, Tottenham’s route to the final could see them take on Arsenal in the semi-finals. On the other side of the draw, likely finalists include PSG, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, or Man City.
But, will Spurs even get past this round? Well, if we take a look at their recent record in the competition in the 21st century, we can see that this is often the hurdle the Lilywhites fall at.
In 2022/23, Tottenham crashed out in the last-16 at the hands of AC Milan, with a drab two-leg affair ending 1-0 to the Italians on aggregate.
They also failed in the first knockout phase in 2019/20, getting hammered by RB Leipzig over two legs. That was particularly disappointing, given Spurs had just played in the final the previous season.
Italian opponents again knocked Tottenham out in the last-16 in 2017/18, with Juventus prevailing 4-3 on aggregate. That’s a damn sight better than the 2016/17 campaign, though, where Spurs failed to make it out of the group phase.
In fact, aside from that glorious run to the final in 2019, the only time Tottenham have made it past the last-16 was in 2010/11. That season, the Lilywhites beat AC Milan in the knockout round, before losing to Real Madrid in the quarters.
The post Tottenham will be hoping to channel their one and only meeting with Atletico Madrid appeared first on Spurs Web.