Kylian Mbappé admitted after his impressive hat trick against Manchester City that, between Atlético de Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen, he would prefer to face the team coached by Diego Pablo Simeone in the round of 16 of the Champions League. What Mbappé might not have known is that Real Madrid will start with a slight disadvantage when preparing for the first match.

The schedules for Matchday 26 of LaLiga for Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid

The issue has to do with the schedules set by LaLiga for Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid ahead of Matchday 26. Real Madrid will play on Sunday, March 2, at 4:15 PM (Spain time) against Real Betis. Atlético de Madrid, on the other hand, will host Athletic Club at the Metropolitano... but at 9:00 PM (Spain time) the day before.

That means Real Madrid will have one less day to prepare for the first Champions League match against Atlético de Madrid, which will take place at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday, March 4. At this stage of the season, after so many matches played and all that’s still ahead, this detail could make a significant difference.

Barcelona: another problem for Real Madrid

LaLiga sent the clubs these schedules two weeks ago. This way, both Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid were aware that this situation might occur. For now, these schedules are not official and could be subject to changes. But it’s unlikely they will be modified.

This is because LaLiga is not in favor of having Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, and Barcelona play on the same day. In addition, Barcelona also plays its first match against Benfica on Tuesday, March 4, and has to travel to Portugal. Therefore, Real Madrid will need to explore other options to change the date of their match against Real Betis.