Manchester United may have acquired a significant advantage in their bid to reach the Champions League quarter-finals after Atletico Madrid's tactics board was apparently abandoned at Old Trafford ahead of Tuesday's round-of-16 second game.

After a 1-1 draw in Madrid three weeks ago, Ralf Rangnick's team are trying to reach the final eight and may already have a leg up on Diego Simeone and co. in round two. According to The Sun, Atletico staff left details of their vital strategies inside the stadium following Monday evening's training session, only to discover they had left the board behind while unloading their kit at a city-centre hotel.

The van that had transported them from Old Trafford to central Manchester had already departed, causing a terrified member of Simeone's backroom staff to ask for its return quickly. Fortunately for the Spanish champs, they appear to have recovered it following a frantic sequence of events.

However, the harm may already have been done, since Old Trafford workers working at the stadium may have been able to see Los Rojiblancos' gameplan and pass it on to Rangnick and his team.

The interim United manager has already urged his team to seize every opportunity ahead of the win-or-go-home tie, and he has urged the Old Trafford crowd to create a cauldron-like atmosphere, similar to the one created during Saturday's dramatic 3-2 victory over Tottenham, which was inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo's sensational hat-trick.

"[The audience will be] quite significant," Rangnick said in a pre-match QA with manutd.com. "Our supporters are outstanding, incredible; they can always make a difference and contribute to the creation of a very remarkable atmosphere, even more so on international nights. However, ultimately, it is up to us.

"We have to take the first step and demonstrate our ambition and desire to qualify for the final eight; if we do, the fans will rally behind the players and carry us all the way through the game." While the Red Devils are at home, Atletico have the advantage of an extra day of rest after defeating relegation rivals Cadiz 2-1 on Friday.
However, the 63-year-old is delighted with his team's time off following the Spurs victory, adding: "To be sure, I would have assumed that was the case. I was unaware that they [La Liga officials] let them to play a day earlier. Typically, issue is resolved by television and broadcasting corporations.

"It's acceptable to us. As long as there are at least three days between. Obviously, it would not have been a bad idea for us to play Friday, but again, it is not a significant issue for us. I believe it will have no bearing on tomorrow's game." Rangnick continued, " "Finally, it's about the degree of emotion we're going to play; it's about desire once again.