Antoine Griezmann and Samuel Lino scored in each half to give Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win over Lazio on Wednesday that secured them top spot in Champions League Group E, the first time since 2016 that they had reached the knockouts as group winners.
'We have to move on and go ahead, it's our job. It's an important situation for the club to advance in the competition and we want to do well to honour him.'
Atletico Madrid got in the mood for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona by thrashing Real Betis 5-1 on Saturday, their biggest win of the season. A classy finish from Fernando Torres and a fortuitous strike from Atletico's top scorer Antoine Griezmann gave the home side a 2-0 lead at halftime. Substitute Angel Correa then made a big impression in the second period, laying on the third goal for Juanfran and the fourth by Griezmann before Thomas Partey rounded off the scoring for the home team. Ruben Castro netted for Betis in the 79th minute when he pounced on a rare error from Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Atletico meet city rivals Real Madrid in the final at Jeddah.
The 45-year-old former striker, a 2010 World Cup semi-finalist, has switched to tennis since his retirement in 2018, playing on the international senior tour.
Barcelona's Ferran Torres scored twice to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating LaLiga clash on Sunday.
Juve forward Cristiano Ronaldo had an unusually quiet game after scoring a hat-trick against Atletico in last year's competition, although he came within inches of grabbing a last-gasp winner when he sent a shot just past the far post.
Chelsea have the upper hand ahead of next week's Champions League semi-final, second leg after holding Atletico Madrid to a frustrating 0-0 draw in Tuesday's first leg.
Their limp performance does not inspire confidence ahead of the visit of the all-powerful Serie A leaders and familiar foe Cristiano Ronaldo.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday he is happy with how new signing Kylian Mbappe is settling into life with the Spanish soccer giants and he has no concerns about his team's slow start to the LaLiga season.
Barcelona midfielder Gavi delighted to be back after 348-day injury layoff
Manchester City came out on top in an epic Champions League battle against Monaco whereasAtletico Madrid beat hosts Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in a topsy-turvy encounter.
A stoppage time header by fullback Lucas Vazquez earned 10-man Real Madrid a 1-0 victory at lowly Alaves.
Ivan Toney, once Brentford's lynchpin in attack, has moved to Al-Ahli for 40 million pounds ($52.50 million).
The Catalonian side put up a good fight to stay level in the first half at a half-empty Wanda Metropolitano stadium, with Lucas Hernandez hitting the post and Diego Costa denied when one-on-one with the visiting keeper.
Watford knocked out of FA Cup; third-tier side Cultural Leonesa shock Madrid team.
Carlo Ancelotti's side were then reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute when Vinicius Jr was shown a straight red card for slapping Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.
'Either you're injured, and you don't play with your club and you're not called up in the national team.'
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid resume a nail-biting La Liga title race on Saturday after all notched up victories on Wednesday. Leaders Barcelona, who ended a four-game winless streak by hammering Deportivo La Coruna 8-0 away from home, host struggling Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Atletico battled to a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao to stay level on 79 points with Barcelona, who top the table with a superior head-to-head record and host Malaga. Real stayed one point behind their title rivals after beating Villarreal 3-0 and are expected to be without top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for their visit to struggling neighbours Rayo Vallecano. The Portuguese forward was unable to finish the game against Villarreal after suffering cramp in stoppage time but eased concerns he had suffered a serious injury.
Atletico Madrid's Luis Suarez struck two late goals to give the LaLiga champions a 2-1 win at Getafe on Tuesday after the hosts were reduced to 10 men late in the second half.
Atletico Madrid celebrated like they had won the trophy after reaching the Champions League quarter-finals by edging past PSV Eindhoven 8-7 on penalties on Tuesday following 210 goalless minutes in their last-16 tie.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is renowned for his wild touchline antics but a shrewd tactical move with a triple substitution swung Wednesday's Champions League game against Juventus firmly his side's way.
Both managers have struggled in the Champions League this season, with PSG on seven points and 25th in the standings, one place outside the knockout phase playoff zone, while City are one point ahead in 22nd.
Real's victory at the Santiago Bernabeu means they are poised to knock Atletico out of the competition for the fourth successive year.
Holders Real Madrid will need to maintain their intensity for the whole of next week's return leg if they are to get past Atletico Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Copa del Rey to Girona on Wednesday following a highly entertaining 3-3 draw at home to the Catalan side, who sneaked through to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.
Before Leicester enchanted the sporting world last year with their miraculous Premier League title win, Atletico had worked similar wonders in 2014 by breaking the strangehold of Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga.
Atletico Madrid will have centre backs Diego Godin and Stefan Savic available again for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg at Barcelona.
If Atletico Madrid win a first Champions League title by beating city rivals Real Madrid on Saturday they will become the most successful team in the club's history, eclipsing the La Liga and King's Cup double winners of 1996.
A round-up of Saturday's football action in La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
Diego Simeone has opened the door to the possibility of leaving Atletico Madrid in the next two years after announcing on Friday that he had reduced his contractual commitment from 2020 to 2018.
Mallorca fans were filmed racially abusing Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr. in their Son Moix stadium during their 1-0 upset win against the LaLiga holders on Sunday.
The Brazilian scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid that sent Real Madrid to the top of the Primera Liga.
Atletico Madrid cruised to a 3-0 home win over Real Sociedad on Tuesday to close the gap behind La Liga leaders Barcelona to five points.
The following is the draw for the Champions League last 16 which was held in Nyon on Monday:
Lens falter in title race after draw at Nice, Marseille hit six
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick to help the LaLiga champions snap a two-game winless run in all competitions.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and LaLiga have taken steps to tackle an increase in racist abuse with measures including partial stadium closures.
Real Madrid have avoided defeat in their last 41 LaLiga games, the second best streak by a team in the competition's history.
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