Diego Simeone, the manager of Atletico Madrid, expressed his disappointment following a lackluster performance in a match against Las Palmas, where his side suffered a last-minute defeat. This result has been a huge setback to Atletico’s LaLiga title ambition. They now find themselves ten points adrift at the top of Barcelona and three off second-placed Real Madrid.
Simeone said the game didn’t go the way they had planned. His main complaint seemed to be that the team didn’t take advantage of their play in the first half. To their credit, Atletico started playing well enough to make sure they never fell behind on the scoreboard. As the game progressed, they were unable to sustain their transformative energy. “We were not.” In his words, today we missed the mark and he was unhappy with the performance as a whole.
Tactical Shortcomings
Despite his accomplishments, Simeone has been in charge for more than a decade. He acknowledged that this game exposed shortcomings in tactical execution and individual performances. He firmly denied any accusations of a lack of attitude from his players, stating, “It wasn’t a matter of attitude, we just played badly.”
He further expanded on the issues encountered during the match, stressing the lack of movement and connecting through ball circulation. “There was no fluidity, no chance to link up play,” he explained. The changes made in the latter half did not go far enough. Due to this, the team apparently had a hard time generating the attacking patterns and combination play that they had worked towards.
Defensive Struggles
Such questions have been asked of Atletico Madrid’s famed defensive solidity as they were undone at key moments. As such, Simeone observed that his side has faced tougher challenges in recent games than they did earlier in the season. He stated, “We have struggled more in this last stretch than we did at the beginning of the season. Defence is a very important part of our game and we need people who understand what we need.”
That last-minute winner conceded against Las Palmas must have stung at least twice as much to Diego Simeone and his team. It highlighted just how much they need to work on their defensive shape as they look to rediscover their touch in their final few games of the season.
Title Chances Diminish
More importantly, Atletico Madrid has put itself in a risky spot on the league table. Having only collected 63 points so far their chances of winning the LaLiga title have been dramatically affected. As such, Simeone stressed the need to hit “perfect numbers” just to even begin to have any hope of competing for the title. The unfortunate truth is that, after this most recent defeat, it’s clear his team didn’t come close to meeting those standards.
Real Madrid are preparing to face Athletic Bilbao this Sunday in La Liga. Atletico, on the other hand, will spend the break figuring out what went wrong and looking for a way to fix their persistent woes. The second half of their inaugural matchup will be busy as the two look to save their year and establish a foundation ahead of brighter days.
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