THE NEW CLASICO

Atletico Haven't Won At Camp Nou In Nine Ties.

Can They End The Jinx?

Diego Simeone has one of the few feats to elude his hugely successful spell in charge of Atletico Madrid in his sights on Wednesday as he looks to claim a first win in nine attempts at Barcelona's Camp Nou.

Simeone's biggest achievement as Atletico boss came in winning La Liga at Camp Nou with a 1-1 draw in 2014, but despite also dumping Barca out of the Champions League in two of the last three seasons, the Argentine has yet to taste victory in the Catalan capital.

Barca's front three of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar have proved too hot even for Atletico's watertight defence to handle, and Simeone insisted Barca remain the best team in Spain despite trailing early La Liga leaders Real Madrid by three points.

“The truth is Barca are the best team.They continue to play brilliant football and have the players that most make the difference individually and collectively.“

However, Atletico can call on an in-form forward of their own in Antoine Griezmann. Euro 2016's top scorer has scored four times in his last two La Liga games as Atletico have bounced back from draws against Alaves and Leganes to open their league campaign. And Simeone backed a campaign led by French sports daily L'Equipe on Tuesday for Griezmann to end Messi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo's dominance of the Ballon d'Or for the past eight years.“Hopefully , Antoine will be there because last year he had an enormous season. He has started strong again this year,“ added Simeone.

Atletico coach Simeone also defended Neymar when asked if he would be bothered if Neymar attempted tricks against his side on Wednesday . “He has a particular style of play, like everyone else, but I love it,“ Simeone said on Tuesday .

“He has been criticised and they have exposed his private life. He has fun, he sings he dances and he destroys opponents. They can keep criticising him. He needs to respond on the pitch.“ Simeone added: “He's extraordinary . He went to the Olympics and won gold, he has found his place at Barcelona to showcase his talent, he has just come back from holidays and he's still playing just as well... I love watching him.“

Ronaldo, Bale back for record-chasing Real Madrid:

Real Madrid have the luxury of welcoming back Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale as they aim to set a new La Liga record with a 17th consecutive win against Villarreal on Wednesday .Real matched the Liga record of 16 wins registered by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona in 201011. “They are fine. They have trained normally , they are 100 percent,“ said Zidane.

 (TOI)