"You have to beat the best" - Luis Suarez reacts to Atletico Madrid drawing Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League

Atletico Madrid forward Luis Suarez has reacted to Los Rojiblancos’ Champions League last-16 draw, urging his team to beat “one of the best” - Manchester United.

The first draw for the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 took place in Nyon on Monday. Atletico Madrid drew 2019-20 winners Bayern Munich, while Manchester United were pitted against Lionel Messi’s PSG.

Surprisingly, a clerical error from UEFA’s side saw the original draw become null and void. A redraw took place soon after and paired Atletico Madrid up with Manchester United in the last-16.

Both Atletico Madrid and Manchester United have struggled in their respective leagues. While it is impossible to predict the outcome of a football match, it is fair to say that both teams have benefitted from the redraw.

Beating Bayern Munich or PSG in the Champions League would probably have been a tall order given the forms of the two teams this season.

Atletico Madrid have not gone deep into the tournament since 2016 but their forward Luis Suarez remains confident of their chances this season. The former Barcelona striker, however, is not taking Manchester United lightly and has called them “one of the best” in the world.

When asked about the redraw and what he thought about it, Suarez told Diario AS:

“I saw the second (draw). To win the Champions League, you have to beat the best. United are one of the best. We will go into the knockout stage in the best way possible.”

The first leg is set to be held at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on the 23rd of February. The return leg will take place at Old Trafford, three weeks later, on March 15th.

Manchester United set to resume first-team training on Wednesday

After a Covid-19 outbreak at Manchester United, the Red Devils were forced to shut down their operations in Carrington on Monday. As a result, Manchester United’s midweek Premier League clash with Brentford had to be called off.

Thankfully, the situation has improved since the mini-lockdown, and Manchester United are hopeful of resuming training on Wednesday itself. If nothing untoward happens, United should be able to play Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.