Villarreal – Atlético Madrid: Simeone’s Atleti Earn Point In Battle Of Transitions With The Submarine (2-2)

Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid began their LaLiga campaign with a stalemate at the Estadio de la Cerámica. Four goals, all in the first half, saw Villarreal & Atleti share the spoils after an end-to-end opening forty-five minutes as new Atletico recruit Alexander Sørloth got on the scoresheet while Julian Alvarez came on as a substitute for his debut late on. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.

There are no illusions at Atletico Madrid amongst the Atletico fanbase this season. Diego Simeone has steered the club vehemently & assuredly throughout his tenure bringing Atletico back to contention for major honours. But the Atletico manager has now embarked on a club rebuild this summer and the pressure seems to be nascently bubbling through. Unlike Chelsea whom Atleti are dealing with closely for a swoop for Conor Gallagher, in a move that sees Joao Felix go the other way, Atleti aren’t hiding behind the veils of a ‘project’ which seems to be the London club’s rhetoric under new ownership. It’s just business for Simeone’s Atletico dealing with the Blues. But this significant investment in signings has seen the Atleti fans expectant for results on the pitch. 

On a hot summer night at El Madrigal or the Estadio de la Cerámica as it’s referred to these days, you could almost cut through the heat with a butter knife as the Yellow Submarine lined up against Simeone’s men with the visitors donning their customary red and . . .