#UCLdraw: With the draw for the Champions League quarterfinals made, here’s a look at how the matches could go. Apologies, Leicester fans, but the dream may end here.

Atletico Madrid vs. Leicester City
Of all the clubs Leicester could have met in the quarterfinals, they were drawn against the only one they had faced before. Admittedly, much has changed since Martin O’Neill’s Foxes lost 4-1 on aggregate to Atletico in a UEFA Cup first-round tie in 1997, with Ian Marshall earning a place in the history books by scoring at Vicente Calderon.

Atletico also beat Leicester 3-1 over two legs in the 1961-62 Cup Winners’ Cup and, up until this season, had been their opponents in half of the European fixtures they had ever played.
In the here and now, Leicester can have mixed feelings about this draw — that is, if they were minded to feel at all choosy. On the one hand, Atletico do not quite have the individual stardust many of the other contenders possess, and they have not been consistently at their uncompromising best this season.

On the other, Diego Simeone’s team know better than anybody how to win a game at this level through sheer guts and, like Leicester, are happy to cede possession in order to do so.

It may be that Craig Shakespeare’s side have met their match — an opponent that can do the dirty, unfussy work that brought them success against Sevilla but have that extra bit of quality where it matters.

Atletico have done this all before; they can win a tie in many different ways and Leicester will have their work cut out. Only a fool would rule the Foxes out now, though.

Prediction : Atletico will go toe-to-toe with Leicester in the physical battle and have too much in the opposition box. Simeone’s side reach the semis.

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