Gregorio Manzano toughing it out

Real Madrid manager Mourinho accused their derby rivals of being too physical following their clash at the weekend, with Cristiano Ronaldo now nursing an ankle injury following a challenge from Luis Perea. Atletico also had two players – goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Diego Godin – sent off as they slumped to a 4-1 defeat to their city rivals.

But, according to Manzano, his side may be physical but no more so than tonight’s hosts Celtic. He said: “We’re known to be a physical team, as are Celtic. That doesn’t mean we’re dirty though. Unfortunately I’m past the point of being surprised about it.

“I’m not going to pay any attention to Real Madrid’s medical report.”

Manzano does not expect to make too many changes for the meeting with Celtic despite the defeat at the weekend.

“The team is well. It wasn’t a positive result but there’s a lot we can take from the game. We want to get far in the tournament and to do that we need to take all the points,” he said.

Third-placed Celtic need a win to have a realistic chance of progressing from Group I, with a trip to joint leaders Udinese awaiting them in their last group match. But Manzano warned that his own side will go all out for victory. He said: “The idea is to win. Mathematically that would put us through. We want to secure our step through to the next phase.”

He has yet to decide whether to unleash star man Radamel Falcao on Celtic from the start after the £35 million striker recovered from injury. “He is here and fit to play. I am unsure if he will start or come on at some point,” he said.