Man City are more similar to Atletico Madrid than you might think

Ahead of Manchester City's Champions League quarter-final tie against Atletico Madrid, there has been a lot of talk about the differences between the styles of the two teams and coaches.

The narrative is that the two matches will see a clash of completely opposing styles, that Pep Guardiola's brilliant attacking side will tirelessly work to break down the stubborn, anti-football Atletico of Diego Simeone. In reality, as Guardiola said during his pre-match press conference, that stereotype of the LaLiga champions is untrue and unfair; in some ways, City and Atletico are in fact quite similar.

"I'm not going to talk for one second about these stupid debates," Guardiola said of the idea that City play brilliant football and Atletico are just defensive. Thankfully he did go on to speak on the subject.

READ MORE: Man City manager Pep Guardiola slams 'stupid debate' around Atletico Madrid

"After watching Atletico there is a misconception, wrong, about the way he [Diego Simeone] plays. It's more offensive than people believe. He doesn't want to take a risk in the build-up but they have quality in the final third.

"They put the ball in wide areas, they are aggressive at winning the ball, when they win it they play. When the ball is in our half, how competitive they are depends on the position and movement. They know exactly how to play. In the moments of the game, in these situations they are really good."

Sound familiar? Of course there are obvious differences between the styles of the two sides: Atletico do at times employ a low defensive block, and are happy to cede possession in big European ties (see their wins at Liverpool and Manchester United over the past few years).

Atletico are at their most dangerous when