Atlético Madrid – Real Valladolid: Atlético’s Midfield Overloads Overwhelm the Basement Boys (4-2)

Atlético Madrid overwhelmed bottom side Real Valladolid to secure their 18th league win despite going a goal down early. Frequent overloads in central midfield and wide areas allowed Atlético to get in behind Valladolid’s defense and create chances for onrushing midfielders.

Tactical analysis and match report by David Pugh.

Atlético’s season had fizzled out after damaging exits from both the Champions League and Copa del Rey, but with an outside shot at the LaLiga title still on the table, they looked to build on a 2-1 win at Sevilla. Their task: overcome basement club Valladolid, thrashed 4-0 at home the previous weekend and still seeking their first goal at the Metropolitano.

Diego Simeone made several changes from his previous lineup. Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino were unavailable through injury, while Ángel Correa was suspended. José María Giménez returned from suspension to partner Clément Lenglet at the back. Javi Galán and Marcos Llorente took up the full-back spots, with Koke returning to midfield alongside Pablo Barrios. Conor Gallagher and Giuliano Simeone played wide, while Antoine Griezmann operated behind Julián Álvarez.

Valladolid boss Álvaro Rubio abandoned the 4-4-2 used in the loss to Getafe, turning to a more compact 4-1-4-1. Eight players were left out from the previous matchday squad. Notably, Luis Pérez and Juan Latasa were dropped following a bench-side altercation, and Mario Martín was suspended. André Ferreira remained in goal with David Torres returning to partner Joseph Aidoo in central defense. Henrique Silva and Antonio Candela started as full-backs, while . . .