At Villarreal on Sunday, Atlético Madrid debuted their sleek new away shirts for next season. The performance on the pitch failed to match the look, as Atlético’s season came to a close with a 5-1 hammering in Vila-real.
Back-to-back defensive lapses proved costly, as Juan Musso brought down Nicolas Pépé with a reckless challenge in the box, which allowed Dani Parejo to convert from the penalty spot on 29 minutes. Moments later, another lapse from Marcos Llorente keyed a structural collapse as Ayoze
Pérez doubled the hosts’ lead.
In the 40th minute, Georges Mikautadze snuck in behind the Atleti defense and took advantage of Clément Lenglet’s poor positioning to extend Villarreal’s lead to three goals. Just before halftime, Marc Pubill was able to thump home his first goal of the season from Antoine Griezmann’s corner, but any momentum was immediately squashed following a Pape Gueye rocket from outside the box before half time.
Simeone made three substitutions in an attempt to spark a comeback, but Ayoze Pérez quickly put any hopes of that to rest. Just eight minutes into the second half, the Spaniard grabbed his second goal of the night and Villarreal’s fifth.
The match perfectly sums up a league season in which Simeone’s men struggled to play well away from home and were absolutely dreadful in defense. Fourth is right where Atlético de Madrid deserve to be, and all credit goes to Villarreal for securing third in a great season.
Here are Into the Calderón’s player ratings from this final match of the 2025/26 season.
Starting XI
Juan Musso
The Argentine was given the nod for the final match over Jan Oblak and I bet he wishes he hadn’t been. The scoresheet will unfairly show he conceded five goals, but he was put in a difficult spot from an Atleti defense which played arguably its worst match of the season. 3
Dávid Hancko
Not the best day for Hancko. He was seemingly play as a left-back, rather than his usual position as the left-sided partner in a center-back pairing with Marc Pubill. Griezmann made a joke in training that Hancko has been “playing on one ankle” for two months and perhaps the offseason is coming at the perfect time for the Slovakian. 4
Clément Lenglet
Your reminder that Lenglet has a contract here for two more years. Hopefully an offer will arrive in the summer and this will be the last time we see Lenglet represent this club. The Frenchman’s “defending” directly led to the first, third and fifth goals from Villarreal. Adieu. 0
Marc Pubill
Another great showing from Pubill, who basically played the role of two defenders given that Lenglet was next to him. Good to see him get his first goal of the season after a great campaign that he will undoubtedly build on this summer as he nears a place at the FIFA World Cup. Left the pitch for Matteo Ruggeri at half time as he felt unwell, but didn’t we all? 5
Marcos Llorente
Back from suspension for his 300th match as a Rojiblanco, the Spain international ran his heart out the entirely match when he could have mailed it in ahead of the World Cup, though he really needed to do better closing down Alfonso Pedraza ahead of Villarreal’s second goal. 4
Álex Baena
A forgettable performance for Baena, who returned to La Cerámica for the first time since leaving Villarreal last summer. Yet another match this season where the Spaniard did not play the full 90, as he was subbed off for Javi Morcillo in the 61st minute. 4
Koke
Atlético Madrid’s captain struggled to impose himself in midfield, with the game largely passing through him as Atlético spent long spells without control in possession. The Spaniard had to cover for the wayward Obed Vargas on several occasions, the match proving a little too big for the 20-year-old. 4
Obed Vargas
The Mexico international was not great on Sunday. Vargas did not add much in possession and was positioned poorly on the Mikautadze goal. It remains to be seen if Vargas will remain with the club or go on loan, but he will benefit from a full preseason program under Simeone. 3
Giuliano Simeone
The Argentine’s poor run of form continues. Played a lazy pass before Villarreal’s fourth and El Cholo hauled him off at halftime. 3
Ademola Lookman
Did not make much of an impact in his final match of his first season with the club. Most are going to be very curious how the Nigeria star continues to progress in his first full season next year. 3
Antoine Griezmann
A shame that his final match with the club was such a lopsided affair. He will be memorialized on the scoresheet having provided an assist on Pubill’s shouldered-in goal. 4
Substitutes:
Alexander Sørloth
Sørloth had a couple of big chances after he replaced Giuliano at half time, but he was unable to convert. Another player who could have played his final match as a Rojiblanco. 4
Aleksa Purić
Good to see the Atlético Madrileño product get a full half of football after he replaced Dávid Hancko at half time. Played better than Lenglet, but that’s not really saying a lot. 4
Matteo Ruggeri
Oftentimes, the Italian can make up for lapses in defensive focus for his high quality crosses. That was not the case Sunday, as he melded poor defending with ineffective crossing. 4
Javier Boñar
Boñar continues to impress, and he’s gaining some momentum in consideration for a first-team role next season. Whether it be with Atlético de Madrid or another club, the Madrileño product deserves to play first-division football next year. 5
Javi Morcillo
Similar to Boñar, Morcillo has impressed Simeone with his attitude and ball-hunting. Unfortunately, Atleti’s midfield might be a little crowded next season and he may do well with a loan spell to another Primera side. 5
