As if putting in their “weakest performance” in Diego Simeone’s reign last weekend wasn’t enough — to use the coach’s own words — Atletico Madrid were also sucker-punched in the Champions League ahead of the Madrid derby on Sunday.

Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel scored a 95th-minute equaliser to deny Atletico an impressive win in Rome on Tuesday which would have gone some way to raising the team’s morale.

The visit of Real Madrid to the Metropolitano on Sunday catches Atletico at a low ebb, but it is the type of high-intensity clash which could cure the ills of the past week for Simeone and his team, kickstarting their campaign.

The fiery Argentine coach was aghast at the way Valencia strolled to a 3-0 win over his side last weekend in La Liga, leaving the Rojiblancos seventh.

Read the full story on the Times of Malta Sports website...

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.