Athletic Club – Atlético Madrid: Diego Simeone Snatches Three Points (0-1)

At San Mamés, Atlético Madrid cast their fans’ minds back to days when penetrating Simeone’s lines was a miracle. A compact 5-4-1 block and a transition were enough for the visitors to secure three points before the international break.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

Without a doubt, Diego Simeone is the Sir Alex Ferguson of Atlético Madrid. His achievements speak for themselves about what he has accomplished for the club. A team that consistently competed against the elites on national and European stages and came so close to touching the pinnacle two times in the Champions League. Nonetheless, Atlético Madrid has gone stale in recent years.

Since their last LaLiga win in the 2020–21 season, Atlético Madrid has been hibernating in third place, below Barcelona and Real Madrid. In 2023/24, under Miguel Ángel Sánchez Muñoz's management, Girona joined the top three, pushing Diego Simeone’s team to the fourth spot. However, Atlético Madrid's transfer market indicated the intention of bouncing back to take the lead at the top of the Spanish pyramid.

Last summer saw Atlético Madrid ramping up their squad to challenge the two mammoths, Real Madrid and Barcelona, for major honors. Robin Le Normand arrived from Real Sociedad, Alexander Sørloth joined from Villarreal CF, and Julián Alvarez was brought in from Manchester City to replace Álvaro Morata, who moved to AC Milan. Conor Gallagher landed in Madrid after long negotiations with Chelsea over a swap deal, including João Félix going the other way.

Athletic Club . . .