Atletico Madrid in panic after leaving tactics board for Man Utd clash at Old Trafford on eve of Champions League clash

ATLETICO MADRID had a huge pre-match panic after leaving their tactics board at Old Trafford on the eve of tonight’s clash with Manchester United.

The Spanish Champions trained at the ground on Monday night before returning to their city centre hotel.

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Ralf Rangnick will have to outthink Atletico boss Diego Simeone in tonight’s Champions League clash[/caption]

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Simone’s side got the better of United in the first leg[/caption]

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The Atletico Madrid squad trained at Old Trafford on Tuesday[/caption]

But after the staff unloaded their kit and equipment they realised something was missing.

The vehicle that had brought them back had already left.

A panicked member of the Atletico backroom team immediately asked for it to return so they could get back to Old Trafford.

It came back and they were understood to have been able to access the ground and recover the board.

It is not known as yet whether any United staff who will have been cleaning up the away dressing room were able to glean anything from the board that they could pass on to manager Ralf Rangnick.

With the last 16 tie all level at 1-1 any extra bit of information for either side on how the teams will be set up or what tactics they might have for the game will be a help.

Boss Rangnick wants to use everything at his disposal tonight not least a packed Old Trafford crowd.

In his pre-match press conference he said how the Red Devils fans can be an extra ‘12th or 13th man’ for the team.

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He has repeated the appeal in tonight’s programme.

Rangnick wrote: “These are the nights when we must show our best side and perform to our full potential.

“That also extends to you, the supporters, of course. We had a great atmosphere during a big game in our season on Saturday, and we will need the same tonight because it can make a big difference to the players.

“I have stood on the touchline at Old Trafford as the opposition manager when United beat Schalke in the semi-finals in 2011, so I know just how influential the atmosphere here can be. Tonight, I hope we can all drive each other on and get ourselves into the last eight.”