Julián Alvarez’s heroics against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday cut the gap to league leaders Real Madrid down to nine points. Still a sizeable gap, but with El Derbi to come on Saturday, a positive result
was needed for Atlético Madrid to stay in the hunt.
That said, it was far from comfortable. Rayo came within 10 minutes of their first victory over the Rojiblancos in Madrid this century, but Diego Simeone’s side showed the fight that they have needed in the league to — frantically — get over the line. In a time like this, you take the three points however they come, right?
Struggle for control
Including Wednesday, Atlético have scored inside the opening 15 minutes of a league game in four out of their six fixtures so far. They have been the first side to break the deadlock in all six games and yet, they have only won two. These wins were also the only instances where Cholo’s team scored more than once. Having spent heavily in the summer, these stats are puzzling to say the least.
Now, it is true that most of the summer star cast are injured and most of those that are available have not really kicked on yet. In fact, apart from Dávid Hancko, Wednesday’s starting lineup was identical to what we predominantly saw last season. Does that afford the side an excuse for their performances thus far?
(Let us not forget that last season’s squad did rack up a record number of consecutive wins.)
Truthfully, Atlético have struggled to control and dominate games like they need to. Nearly every league game has followed the same pattern – they show early promise, strike first, fail to capitalize on the lead, then concede cheaply or just completely cede control (sometimes both), and finally trudge to the final whistle. It is a disappointing pattern unbecoming of a top side. Barcelona were immensely effective last year for their ruthlessness to finish sides off early; all contenders come the end of the season do the same.
On Wednesday Atleti could have been well ahead considering the chances they had after the opener, with Alvarez himself blazing over from a near open net. Of course, it is not every day that someone will score an absolute golazo like Pep Chavarría did to equalise, but the lack of concentration for the second goal can certainly occur, and it already has multiple times this season. The only difference was the side refused to fizzle out after losing their grip on the game. Here’s hoping the Rojiblancos can start controlling games earlier going forward and make all their possession (60 percent again on Wednesday) count.
The defence needs a new look
It is no surprise that Atlético’s fortunes changed right after Marc Pubill and Matteo Ruggeri came on. The impact was instant — the former’s cross created the initial (blocked) chance for Nico Gonzalez and, seconds later, the ball found its way to the latter, whose cross was met by the head of Giuliano Simeone, leading to Alvarez’s tap-in after the initial save. All within a minute of the pair being introduced. The starting full-back pair of Nahuel Molina (56 minutes) and Javi Galán (73 minutes) amassed the same number of successful crosses (2) between them.
It has never been clearer that Cholo Simeone must field a new look defence. Clément Lenglet, though he did not start against Rayo, has been more of a liability than an asset so far, as has Galán. This game was Molina’s first start all season, and it is evident that is nowhere near the best that the side has to offer. Ruggeri may have looked uncomfortable at times in his three league starts, yet the Italian definitely is deserving of an extended run of games to prove himself. Pubill has played around only 45 minutes all season. Marcos Llorente has been the side’s best player over these initial fixtures, and while he has locked down that right-back spot so far, this game was an excellent example as to how he, Pubill and Giuliano can play together.
Ruggeri, Hancko, Pubill, and Robin Le Normand have to feature as much as possible in defence if Atleti want to avoid conceding cheap goals while also having some impetus in attack.
The return of La Araña
The first six weeks of this season have been a rollercoaster for Alvarez. After scoring on the opening day, he failed to find the net in four subsequent games, even missing a penalty that proved to be costly over the weekend against Mallorca. He also came off injured at halftime during Atleti’s only other victory so far, and subsequently missed the big Liverpool game in the Champions League.
But fear not, for it looks like La Araña is back.
It is very difficult to keep a player of Alvarez’s quality down for long. On Wednesday, the Argentina international stormed back with a hat trick to claim the headlines in a way that few can. His opening goal was clinical, a neat first-time volley with his left foot. He missed a straightforward chance shortly after, but with Atlético’s backs to the wall, he came out swinging. He looked at his sharpest to react quickly and fire the ball home from a close-range tap-in on 80 minutes. Finally, he capped it all off with a sublime left-footed strike from distance in the 88th minute that whizzed into the top corner. We saw him put the side on his back on a few occasions last year, this could be the first of many this year as well.
The forward line had become a concern in recent weeks, with no one really seizing the initiative. Giacomo Raspadori has failed to impress since coming in, and Alexander Sørloth’s red card against Mallorca has taken his start from bad to worse. Antoine Griezmann has not looked the same either. Between the three of them, they have 19 shots combined in the league. Alvarez alone has 14.
Such is the dependence on La Araña, which is why his performance Wednesday is a major boost for the side. If he can pull another rabbit out of his hat at the weekend, he might just pull off the biggest trick of all by bringing the Rojiblancos into the title race.
