The Champions League draw for the Round of 16 has pitted Real Madrid against Atalanta with Zinedine Zidane labelling it is “another great opportunity” for his side.
The Champions League Round of 16 will be played in late February with the competition’s record winners paired with the Italian side, who are in the knockout stages of the trophy for the second successive campaign.
At this stage of last year’s competition, the Bergamo-based club eliminated Valencia 8-3 on aggregate and were only knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain with two late goals.
It will be the first time in their history that Los Blancos will face the Serie A side and comes after Real Madrid news was dominated by them advancing through the group stage having defeated Inter both at home and away.
That, coupled with a final day win at home to Borussia Monchengladbach, was enough to see Madrid maintain their perfect record at advancing through Champions League group stages.
Zidane told his pre-match press conference ahead of the midweek clash against Athletic Club Bilbao, as per Marca: “We know who the team and there is a lot of respect for them. This will be played at the end of February but what matters to me is tomorrow’s game (against Athletic). It (the Champions League tie) is another great opportunity for us.”
Madrid have lifted the trophy in four times in the past seven seasons, winning in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
