Atletico Madrid’s triumph over Liverpool in March was a throwback to a more celebrated past under Diego Simeone, but five months on and the Champions League offers it a very real opportunity in the present.
Knocking out the holder at Anfield may prove to be the first glimpse of a new era under Simeone.
Or it could be a last hurrah for the Simeone project, which some believe will never again scale the heights of the incredible La Liga title win in 2014 or the run to the Champion League finals in 2014 and 2016.
Atletico has been unbeaten in the 11 games after resumption. It won seven matches and drew four, one of them against Barcelona.
Atletico faces Leipzig on Thursday in a tournament that has gifted it the significantly kinder half of the draw.
