Atlético Madrid were held to a draw in their final warm-up before Tuesday's Champions League encounter with FC Bayern, failing to make up ground in their domestic league. Their home match against Espanyol Barcelona ended in a goalless stalemate. The result means Diego Simeone's troops lie fourth in the table after 14 matchdays, nine points short of local rivals Real, who drew the Clásico against FC Barcelona 1-1.
The 39,707 crowd at the Estadio Vicente Calderón saw the hosts dominate proceedings throughout but fail to make their superiority count. "It was a very intense match. Espanyol did a good job, their defence was almost perfect," commented Simeone, who fielded his best players.
"We tried a lot to overcome their defence and decide the match in our favour. I think the draw is okay. My team gave it everything, tried everything, but if our opponents defend well we have to congratulate them."
Simeone is likely to rest some of his key players in Munich on Tuesday evening. The Colchoneros have already won Group D, and FC Bayern are certain to finish second.
Atlético line-up against Espanyol:
Oblak - Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin, Filipe Luis - Gabi, Tiago (Gaitan 69) - Koke, Griezmann, Ferreira-Carrasco (Correa 71) - Gameiro (Saul-Niguez 83)
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