Porto revenge mission for Atlético

FC Porto's first home game in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League renews their rivalry with Club Atlético de Madrid, who they removed from last season's competition in the first knockout round on away goals with the teams drawing 2-2 in Spain and 0-0 at the Estádio do Dragão.

• This time round both have a point to prove after Matchday 1, when Porto went down 1-0 at Chelsea FC while Atlético were unexpectedly held to a home goalless draw by debutants APOEL FC.

Previous meetings
• It was Lisandro's double at the Vicente Calderón that ultimately made the difference for Porto against Atlético last season, the 2-2 draw in Spain meaning the Portuguese champions reached the quarter-finals for the first time since lifting the trophy in 2003/04 with a scoreless second leg.

• The teams for the first leg on 24 February 2009 were:
Atlético: Franco, Seitaridis, Antonio López, Forlán, Raúl García (Maniche 67), Agüero (Sinama Pongolle 56), Maxi Rodríguez (Miguel 80), Paulo Assunção, Ujfaluši, Simão, Pablo Ibáñez.
Porto: Helton, Bruno Alves, Lucho, Lisandro (Sektioui 90), Cristián Rodríguez, Hulk, Rolando, Raul Meireles (Tomás Costa 90), Săpunaru (Pedro Emanuel 79), Fernando, Cissokho.

• The teams for the return on 11 March 2009 were:
Porto: Helton, Bruno Alves, Lucho, Lisandro (Farías 90), Cristián Rodríguez, Hulk (Mariano 89), Rolando, Raul Meireles, Săpunaru (Tomás Costa 83), Fernando, Cissokho.
Atlético: Franco, Antonio López, Raúl García (Maniche 73), Agüero, Maxi Rodríguez (Forlán 54), Paulo Assunção, Sinama Pongolle (Miguel 79), Ujfaluši, Simão, Perea, Pablo Ibáñez.

• The teams had previously met only once in a competitive fixture, the 1963/64 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round. That went Atlético's way thanks to a 2-1 home win, the game in Portugal ending scoreless.

• Last season's draw extended to six Porto's sequence of home games against Spanish opponents in UEFA club competition without a win. In that time they have lost three and drawn three.

• Porto's last victory at home to a Spanish side came in October 1999 when they beat Real Madrid CF 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League first group stage.

Match background
• Porto's interest in last season's competition ended in the quarter-finals when Manchester United FC won 1-0 at the Estádio do Dragão after a 2-2 first-leg draw. It was Porto's second home defeat of the campaign after a 1-0 reverse against FC Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 3. In the group stage they recorded home wins against Fenerbahçe SK (3-1) and Arsenal FC (2-0).

• Before the Dynamo defeat, Porto had lost just one of 21 home ties in the competition, winning eleven.

• Atlético have never lost an away game in the UEFA Champions League, disregarding qualifying ties. Last season they started their first campaign in the competition for eleven years with a 3-0 win at PSV Eindhoven and followed that with stalemates away to Liverpool FC (1-1) and Olympique de Marseille (0-0) before their draw in Portugal.

• In the 1996/97 edition they gained two away wins and a draw in the group stage. They then drew 1-1 at AFC Ajax in the quarter-finals but bowed out with a 3-2 home defeat.

Team ties
• Atlético midfielder Paulo Assunção has had two stints with Porto. In 2000/01 he made 36 appearances for the B team and returned in 2004 for a four-year stay.

• Winger Simão, who was named Portuguese Player of the Year in 2007, has had spells with Porto's main domestic rivals, Sporting Clube de Portugal (1996-1999) and SL Benfica (2001-2007).