Atletico Madrid Should Progress from Deceptively Tricky Champions League Group

Diego Simeone and his Atletico players will have watched the Champions League draw with some trepidation.

As part of the second pot of seeds, it meant they may have been drawn against some of Europe's biggest sides, with Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain all potential opponents.

As it turned out, Benfica were plucked out of the selection bowl, meaning Atletico are favourites to progress from Group C.

Thanks to the new UEFA system of putting the league champions in Pot 1, some interesting groups have been thrown up.

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For example, PSG and Real Madrid, two of Europe's best sides, will be clashing in Group A. Likewise Juventus and Manchester City in Group D.

But Atletico are stronger than their Portuguese rivals and significantly better than the other two teams they have been drawn against.

Most believed that Simeone's side got an easy pass when Galatasaray and FC Astana rounded out the group.

And on paper, progression to the latter stages should be a formality for Atletico, who have a better calibre of player and manager than the sides they are set to face.

That's not to mention the spending spree they went on this summer, securing the signatures of Jackson Martinez, Luciano Vietto and the return of Filipe Luis from Chelsea, among others.

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Galatasaray would be happy with second place in the group, while FC Astana are competing in the tournament for the first time and are the first Kazakh team to ever appear in the group stage of the Champions League.

Atletico, who reached the final of the competition in 2014 and were knocked out in the quarter-finals by archrivals Real Madrid last season, have greater pedigree in recent years than any of their opponents.

Benfica have not got out of the group stage since 2011-12, the only time they have managed it in the past decade.

Galatasaray, meanwhile, have been getting progressively worse since 2012-2013, when they reached the quarter-finals.

In 2013-2014, they made it to the last 16. Last season, they were eliminated in the group stage.

So far, so easy. Fernando Torres and company could be forgiven for dreaming of the latter rounds of the tournament.

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But although Atletico should progress through their group, it is trickier than it looks at first glance.

Atletico Madrid executive Clemente Villaverde acknowledged the strength of Benfica and Galatasaray at home. The trips to Portugal and Turkey, respectively, will not be easy.

He said, relayed by ESPN FC: "It is a very competitive group. Benfica and Galatasaray are well known. At home they are very strong, so the group is open, and will give us a lot of work."

And while Benfica have struggled in the Champions League in recent years, they have reached the Europa League final twice in the past three seasons.

Up front is a familiar face. Raul Jimenez, the Mexican striker who struggled at Atletico last season, is now leading the line for their Portuguese opponents.

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He will have something to prove after failing to convince Simeone to give him regular football last season.

Meanwhile, Lukas Podolski, Wesley Sneijder and Hamit Altintop mean getting past Galatasaray might be tougher than it first looks. Those men have the ability to unlock even Simeone's watertight defence.

Finally, the theoretical whipping boys, FC Astana, are a team Atletico will have to face after a flight of around 11 hours before making the same trip back.

This map shows the distance from Lisbon to Astana, Benfica's trip being the longest in Champions League history, while Atletico's isn't much shorter at not far from 7,000 kilometres one way.

That sort of flight means the players may not be in the best condition for the game and will likely be exhausted when it comes to playing their next league match.

Villaverde said: "The trip to Astana is a long journey, with four hours time difference, so the game will have to be played very late. They are a team that are in the draw, and we must play them. We must adapt and take it on."

Atletico will adapt, and it's hard to see them not topping the group. But it's a series of games that is a bit harder than it looks.