Beating AC Milan meant a great deal to Atlético Madrid.
This was the first time since the Champions League format change
that Atlético Madrid had won a knockout match in the competition!
It was their first knockout-stage victory.
For Atlético Madrid, that was something worth celebrating in any way possible.
After the match,
Simeone was also thrilled:
"This is a key victory. Winning at San Siro is fantastic, and we did it. Yes, our goal is of course to qualify..."
After returning from Italy,
when Atlético's players rode the bus back to the club training ground,
passionate Atlético fans followed them the whole way in their cars.
Some of them stuck Atlético flags out of the windows.
Some even leaned out themselves, waving their fists and singing.
"Atleti! Atleti! We are the invincible Atlético Madrid!"
Many of the players on the bus joined in the singing.
...
After returning to Spain, Simeone gave the first-team players a day off.
The first week of the Champions League Round of 16 had come to an end.
Naturally, the Spanish media were most concerned with how their league sides had performed.
When the group stage ended,
the Spanish press had boldly declared that this Champions League season belonged to La Liga.
Because all four Spanish clubs had advanced.
They were the league with the most teams in the Round of 16.
But after the first week of knockout matches,
La Liga's results were mixed.
Only Atlético Madrid had won.
The other three Spanish teams had not.
Málaga suffered the worst result, losing 0-1 away to Porto.
Barcelona also lost, falling 1-2 away to Paris Saint-Germain. They were defeated, but they had an away goal, so they still had a chance to turn it around at home.
Real Madrid were in much better shape.
They drew 1-1 at Old Trafford against Manchester United. They did not lose, and they also got an away goal, so their chances of eliminating United and advancing were very high.
...
When the day off ended, the Atlético squad quickly regrouped to prepare for Matchday 24 of the league, a home match against Valladolid.
Against a weaker Valladolid side,
Simeone did make some rotations.
But at this stage,
no matter who he rotated, he would not rotate Shane Carter.
The team were only two points ahead of Barça now.
Any dropped points would affect Atlético's push toward the title in the final stretch.
This match was not played at a very high intensity, after all Atlético had just come back from an away trip.
Thanks to a pass from Shane in the 73rd minute of the second half, Adrián set up Torres for the winning goal.
1-0.
Atlético Madrid won with this economical scoreline,
and continued to keep Barcelona under pressure in the standings.
...
After that match,
Atlético's fans could look forward to the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16.
For the first time in twenty or thirty years,
Atlético supporters were going to watch their team play a Champions League knockout match at home.
And the opponent was a club like AC Milan.
A club of Milan's stature
often got support and warm reception from local fans when they played away in other cities.
Because they had enough popularity that even in Madrid, not everyone was an Atlético or Real Madrid fan.
A team as successful as AC Milan could even attract some support in a city like Madrid, home to a giant like Real Madrid.
Of course,
Italy and Spain are just across the sea from each other, not far apart.
So a large number of Milan supporters also traveled with the team for the away match.
Over those two days,
you could see many people in Madrid wearing red-and-black AC Milan shirts walking around the streets.
AC Milan also received a warm welcome from Real Madrid.
Since Real Madrid also had a Champions League match in this round,
the atmosphere before the game was lively.
Before kickoff,
the Italian media believed AC Milan had not been eliminated yet.
Losing 1-2 at home was not the end of the world.
If Milan could get themselves together,
scoring two goals away from home was not impossible.
Allegri was no longer thinking about defense.
If they wanted to create a miracle,
they had to attack.
They had to launch a full offensive away from home.
Whether in the pre-match press conference or in interviews,
Allegri kept the posture of a man ready to fight.
"The match isn't over. We will not give up!"
"AC Milan will fight until the end!"
"We will fight for AC Milan's dignity!"
He shouted as if the battle cry alone could shake the stadium.
But whether Milan could actually turn it around against Atlético Madrid
still depended on what happened on the pitch.
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