Atlético fans, quit your whining!
It surprised me to see this week that Atlético Madrid fans have been bitterly moaning about the presumed discriminatory treatment that they’ve received from LaLiga which left them as the only side with Champions League duties having to play on a Sunday. The list of clichéd victimistations have been along the lines of: “They don’t take us seriously, Real Madrid are always favoured by the powers that be…”. What nonsense!
74h 45m rest for Atléti...
Seeing as Atléti finished their game against Deportivo on Sunday at 18:00 and will not kick off until 20:45 on Wednesday against Bayern, 74 hours and 45 minutes will have passed in between (without even needing to catch a plane). That’s two home games in the Calderón.
70h 15m rest for Madrid
However, Real Madrid played Las Palmas away on Saturday at 20:45 (19:45 in Gran Canaria) and returned to the capital early in the morning. Since their Champions League clash versus Dortmund will end at 22.30 on Tuesday, just 70 hours and 15 minutes will have gone by. That’s less rest than Atléti, including four flights that the Madrid squad will have to take. Atlético, quit your whining…