Marca are all in a flap about Liverpool being a big scary monster.
Atletico Madrid and Liverpool are two worlds apart with two weeks to go
Atletico Madrid are the worst version of themselves since
Diego Simeone arrived at the club, both in terms of numbers and feeling.
To make things worse, Los Rojiblancos are just two weeks away from taking on the European champions and the best team on the continent on current form in
Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp's side are well on their way to their first ever Premier League crown, currently holding a 22-point advantage over
Pep Guardiola's
Manchester City.
Atletico Madrid have scored just one goal in their last five games, while
Liverpool can't stop winning and are the most feared team around, thanks in no small part to their front line of
Mohamed Salah,
Roberto Firmino and
Sadio Mane.
Klopp, now in his fifth season at
Anfield, has a well-oiled machine on his hands.
"We're not perfect, not even close" he said.
But they can't be far off.
The Reds have won 24 of their first 25 Premier League games this season, drawing the other, and haven't lost in the league since falling 2-1 against
City in January 2019, accumulating 100 points from the last 102 on offer.
At the back they have a wall in the form of
Virgil van Dijk and
Alisson Becker behind him.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is an assists king at full-back and
Jordan Henderson is an engine in midfield.
Already European champions,
Klopp's side are even better than they were last season and he's never lost a continental knockout tie at the club, nor has he lost any of his 22 European home games.
Having already reached a Europa League final and two Champions League finals with the club,
Klopp's
Liverpool are striking fear into Europe's elite again.
They're striking fear into
Atletico, a club suffering from a severe injury crisis.
All of that leads to pessimism surrounding
the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano ahead of the first leg on February 18.
That's only amplified when last year's Champions League elimination is remembered, when they blew a first leg lead over
Juventus by collapsing in Turin.