No guard of honor as Real Madrid and Atletico meet again in last-16 ...

MADRID (AP) — There won’t be a guard of honor when Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid rekindle their rivalry in the second of three matches between the clubs in less than a month on Thursday.

The round-of-16 match in the Copa del Rey will come less than a week after Madrid beat Atletico 5-3 in extra time in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Madrid eventually won the title by beating Barcelona in the final, and Madrid fans wanted Atletico to keep the guard of honor tradition in which players line up to applaud their opponents as they enter the field before kickoff.

“We have great respect for our opponent, for their coach and their players,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said Wednesday. “We congratulate them, but our fans come before everything, and we will respect our fans.”

Atletico had already skipped the guard of honor when it hosted Madrid following the rival’s Spanish league title in 2022.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said his team might have done things differently, but downplayed Atletico’s decision.

“I respect every club’s decisions,” Ancelotti said. “I think it’s perfectly fine if they do it and it’s perfectly fine if they don’t do it. I don’t give a lot of importance to this. Everyone can do what they want, Real Madrid does things differently. I’ll stay out of this. If we could choose, we would choose what’s best for us.”

Ancelotti said he expected an even tougher game than the one in Saudi Arabia, when Atletico led twice before Madrid prevailed in extra time.

“We’re playing against a very strong team and I’m convinced that it’s going to be more difficult than in the Super Cup,” Ancelotti said. “It’s another trophy and it’s a game that will be played by two teams that can win the Copa del Rey. It makes the match even bigger, as it’s a straightforward single-elimination game.”

The rivals will meet again in the Spanish league on Feb. 4. Madrid is one point behind leader Girona, and is 10 points ahead of fifth-place Atletico.

Simeone’s team won the first league derby of the season 3-1 at home in September. That was Madrid’s only defeat of the season, and since then it is unbeaten in 21 matches in all competitions, with 17 wins and four draws.

Atletico has been especially tough when playing at its Metropolitano Stadium, where it hasn’t lost in 24 consecutive games in all competitions, since a 1-0 defeat to Barcelona in January 2023. It won 22 home games since then, with both draws coming against Getafe in the Spanish league.

“We will need our fans behind us as they usually are at the Metropolitano,” Simeone said.

The coach is expected to have most of his regular starters available on Thursday. He said it will be key for Atletico to contain Madrid’s fast transitions led by Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo. Vinícius scored a hat trick in the 4-1 win against Barcelona in the Super Cup final on Sunday, with Rodrygo adding the fourth goal.

Rodrygo practiced separately from his teammates this week but Ancelotti said the Brazil forward was expected to be in the squad.

Madrid eliminated Atletico in the quarterfinals of the Copa last season, winning 3-1 in extra time at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

“Every game is different,” Ancelotti said. “Whatever has happened in previous matches against Atletico won’t come into play tomorrow.”

Madrid is the Copa’s defending champion, while Atletico hasn’t won the competition since 2013.

Barcelona, seeking its first Copa title since 2021, will look to rebound from the demoralizing loss to Madrid in the Super Cup final when it visits third-division club Unionistas.

“We have to turn the page after the Super Cup loss,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández said. “We are favorites but it won’t be easy. Their team has potential, and it will be the match of their lives.”

Unionistas eliminated Villarreal in the previous round.

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