Atletico Madrid is looking to end its campaign on a positive note after seeing its LaLiga title hopes ended. Indomitable La Liga Coach Diego Simeone has directed the team’s attention back to the last four games in La Liga as they look to regroup. They sit on 67 points in third place of the MLS Supporter’s Shield race. The Club World Cup will begin June 14 in the U.S. and it’s not too late to go. Simeone has been preaching that the priority must remain with getting through the domestic season in good form before turning full attention to the international tournament.
In the end, the team’s race for the title fizzled out because of bad head-to-head results against other title contenders. Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, has won just three of their past eight league fixtures. That’s quite the turnaround in form since a blistering start to the season. They went on to blitz the competition in their first 19 games of the league, losing just once. All of their momentum pretty much died in the second half of the season.
End of Title Dreams
Simeone admitted the team’s overall quality, saying simply, “I believe we played pretty well in LaLiga, competing until February or March.” In fact, they really shined during that time. The coach noted that they didn’t start the season with such enthusiasm. Yet their 2-1 defeat at Getafe turned out to be the key match which stopped them from competing for that title.
There are just four matches remaining for Atletico Madrid. They are 12 points behind league leaders Barcelona and 8 points behind second-placed Real Madrid. This gap exposes the difficulty of their uphill battle to attempt to regain previous years’ form as title contenders.
Focus on Remaining Matches
And as Atletico get ready for their last few games of the season, Simeone is adamant that the players should keep their focus on the now. “It’s not so easy (to think about the Club World Cup), because the focus is not the same,” he stated. He challenged his players to leave everything out on the field as they entered postseason play. They must close out the season in style!
The coach expressed confidence in his players’ commitment, saying, “I see that the team is trying to improve, giving their all so that things go as well as possible.” That tenacity will be needed as they seek to grab precious points against their eastern rivals in front of what should be a raucous home crowd.
Responsibility to Fans
Simeone’s focus must be entirely on doing right by their supporters in these last three games. “We have the responsibility, especially playing in front of our fans, so let’s hope that they will demand more from us tomorrow because obviously that demand will make us enter the game better and hopefully it will lead us to give our all,” he remarked.
Atletico Madrid are preparing for the most important part of the season. They’re looking to save some face and gain some momentum as they enter the Club World Cup. These next few games will be just an excellent chance for this great, resilient, dedicated team to really raise that competitive bar higher and higher.
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