Carlo Ancelotti and Diego Simeone have a rich history against each other. The Argentine and Italian tacticians have faced off against each other on numerous occasions, each hoping to outsmart the other, and the numbers show the equality.
The Madrid derby later today will be the 20th meeting between the two managers. Of them, Ancelotti has got the better of Simeone on eight occasions while the Argentine has come out on top seven times. The other five games ended in draws.
All of the Argentine coach’s meetings with Ancelotti have been at Atletico Madrid, albeit in different competitions. The same is not true for his rival on the night, as the Italian faced Simeone twice with Bayern Munich in the 2016-17 season.
The records surrounding the managers do not end there. With Sunday’s derby, Ancelotti becomes the manager against whom Simeone has faced off the most in his career at 20 times. The reverse transaction again does not hold true, as the Real Madrid coach has faced Luciano Spalletti and Fabio Capello 24 and 22 times respectively.
When the two teams met earlier this season in La Liga, Los Blancos saw off their local rivals by a 2-1 scoreline. The two teams met again last month in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey, and it was again Real Madrid who came out on top in the game that ended 3-1.
Simeone thus has a point to prove on Saturday as he hopes to end the Merengues’ winning run against Atletico.
Real Madrid currently sit second on the league standings, eight points behind Barcelona while Atletico Madrid are fourth and find themselves ten points behind their neighbours. Needless to say, the result at Santiago Bernabeu could have massive implications for the title race in Spain.
source: madriduniversal.com
