Atletico Madrid's secret weapons that make them huge Champions League contenders

That's the view of European football expert Andy Brassell, who believes that Diego Simeone's side has assembled a squad capable of both domestic and European glory.

As well as sitting just one point off top spot in LaLiga and in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, Atletico remain in the hunt for the European Cup as they prepare to face Real Madrid in the last-16.

While holders Los Blancos may be favourites with Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe all in form, Atletico have a very different set of skills which could take them all the way.

Renowned for their physicality, work rate and ability to graft their opponents into submission, Simeone has a squad of players who are capable of outfighting any opponent on their day.

Conor Gallagher joined Atletico from Chelsea last summer and despite starting just 20 of his 33 appearances for his new club, the midfielder is highly thought of by Simeone.

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Having started just three of eight Champions League matches this term, it remains to be seen if the England star will start against Real on Tuesday night.

But according to Brassell, having stars such as Gallagher on the bench is exactly why Atletico have what it takes to challenge until the end of the season.

Brassell told talkSPORT: "He's [Gallagher] Simeone's kind of guy.

"There's no doubt about that.

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"Now I think the really important thing to grasp about Atletico this season, particularly in the context of Conor Gallagher, is that you can't play all the games because no one can play all the games.

"[Antoine] Griezmann's not playing all the games. So I think you have to look at it through that lens.

"The fact is that they are dangerous in LaLiga and in the Champions League alike.

"They've got this huge pair of matches coming up against Real Madrid starting this week.

"They've got the best bench in LaLiga and they've probably got the best bench in the Champions League as well.

"This is how they won this game against Athletic [Bilbao] at the weekend, who are one of the best teams in LaLiga and favourites to win the Europa League I would say, because they were able to change things up."

Brassell was then quick to wax lyrical over Julian Alvarez, who made the move to the Wanda Metropolitano last summer from Manchester City in an £81million deal.

After a fairly slow start to his career in Spain, the 25-year-old is his side's top scorer this term with 21 goals in all competitions - his highest tally in a single season since moving to Europe in 2022.

Further commenting on Atletico's squad depth and Alvarez's stellar form, Brassell added: "They brought Griezmann off [against Bilbao] after an hour. They sent on Julian Alvarez.

"They sent on Marcos Llorente and those are the players that combined to score the winning goal and Alvarez is playing absolutely fantastically at the moment.

"It's really interesting to see the fact that Manchester City - one of the reasons that they sold him, apart from Financial Fair Play at the start of the season - is the fact that there was a bit of a sense that he played too much football.

"[They thought] he might be a bit cooked for the next little while, he certainly started the season like that.

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"But who would have known the Diego Simeone fitness plan would have left him looking better than ever.

"And he's one of the best players In the league at the moment and they must be so happy."

Conor Gallagher sends Diego Simone wild with incredible last minute moment