On a night of impressive results and goals all across the Champions League, Atlético Madrid found themselves on the wrong end of a devastating 4-0 score line.
The trip to London was tipped to be a cagey
affair against a resolute Arsenal side, but that lasted all of about an hour before the Premier League side seized control of the game.
The less said about it the better, so let us get right into the takeaways from the embarrassing defeat.
Away struggles continue
It has been a question of how, and not if, Atlético will drop points on the road.
Tuesday’s loss marks the sixth consecutive away game that Atleti have failed to win this season, a run that started from the opening day fixture at Espanyol. As we know though, these failures away from the Metropolitano are not just a feature of this season. In the Champions League alone, starting from the 2022/23 season, the Rojiblancos have played 15 away games and won just four times. They have drawn twice and lost a resounding nine times in that span. Three of the four wins came last season, in the first edition of the expanded format.
The defeat at Emirates Stadium marks the third consecutive season in which Atleti have conceded four goals in an away Champions League fixture. They lost 4-0 at Benfica last year; in the season prior, it was a 4-2 loss at Dortmund that gave the German side a spot in the semi-finals of the tournament. This used to be a side that could shut down top attacks in their own stadium and come away with the result they needed on the road.
Atlético’s participation in this tournament will last another five games, at least. But Atleti have not been past the quarter-final stage of this competition in eight, going on nine, years. It gets harder and harder each year to overperform and reach the latter stages. Is this an issue of Diego Simeone’s pragmatism? Not really; every year we reach the point of calling for El Cholo’s head, and he turns it around every single time — only to be rewarded with a bundle of middling players wrapped up in the distraction of a star-studded signing.
This summer probably brought in the highest level of players thus far and even then, the left side remains a signifiant issue, with center-back Dávid Hancko being asked to perform there. How often do we need to see such results before we see tangible change within the top level of the club?
Getting left behind
Bukayo Saka is one of the best players in the world, and keeping him quiet should have been prioridad numero uno on Atlético’s list today. However, while the talented right-winger did not score or assist, he ended up being Arsenal’s biggest threat in the game. His three successful dribbles were the most in the game out of anyone on the pitch and for the opening half at least, it seemed like every single attack flowed through him. Supporting the young Englishman from right-back was the excellent Jurrien Timber, whose 13 passes into the final third also ranked first among all players. The Rojiblancos simply had no answer for the Gunners’ right-hand side.
This is no slight against Hancko and Nicolás Gonzalez, both very good players in their own right, and this was probably the best pair that Atleti could have gone with down that flank. What is incredibly telling though is the fact that this is the best combination that the side have had down the left side for over six years.
If you look at the right side for the other top teams to beat, you would naturally worry. Barcelona have Lamine Yamal and Jules Koundé. PSG have Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Achraf Hakimi. Bayern Munich have Michael Olise, Sacha Boey and Joshua Kimmch. Liverpool already ran through with Mohamed Salah and Jeremie Frimpong, and while Atleti overcame Real Madrid, their right side is stacked with Federico Valverde, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Arda Güler and Dani Carvajal.
That is a bunch of firepower to keep out if you want to win the whole thing, and Atleti are getting left behind.
The last top-level left-back at this club was Filipe Luís, who left in 2019. Barring a couple of flashes in the pan from Renan Lodi and Reinildo Mandava we are yet to see anyone lock that spot down since. Even in the wing-back role we have seen Yannick Carrasco and even Samuel Lino excel but, in tight and defensive games like these, that flank has been continuously found wanting.
And yet, knowing our executives, we are probably closer to seeing Filipe replace Simeone in the dugout than we are to seeing a top left-back play in red and white.
The way the cookie crumbled
In a silver lining, for about 60 minutes, Atlético were well and truly in the contest against a loaded Arsenal side. The Colchoneros were tense, resolute, and waiting to take any chances that came. The defense had their work cut out right from the get-go and needed some fortunate breaks here and there to keep the score level, but going into half time, the feeling must have been mildly positive.
Arsenal had only found the target twice from nine shots, and Eberechi Eze’s deflected shot looping onto the crossbar was the closest they had come to scoring. Julián Alvarez nearly caught David Raya off his line with a cheeky effort from out wide. The only clear negative for the visitors was how poor Alexander Sørloth had been, and his inability to hold up the ball was the limiting factor in attack. Overall, though, the first half was largely how we imagined it.
In the second half, Alvarez came close once again with a splendid strike from range that came off the bar. But after a contentious foul, it was Gabriel who gave the hosts the lead in the 57th minute following a header from the free-kick. Even then, it was far from a dominant Arsenal, and from the 45th to the 62nd minute, Atlético actually outshot the hosts 5-3. Good chances fell for all of Alvarez, Hancko and Giuliano Simeone to equalize, though none were taken. And then came the procession.
In the 63rd minute, Cholo opted to replace José María Giménez, Nico Gonzalez and Koke with Álex Baena, Matteo Ruggeri and Conor Gallagher. Nico’s substitution was somewhat understandable, given he sustained a head injury on Saturday. But it was baffling to see Giménez and Koke have their numbers held up. Arsenal had struggled to penetrate through the middle largely because of their performances until then; the ineffective Sørloth was the clear candidate that needed replacing. Uprooting the spine of the 11 in that moment led to near-instant capitulation, and by the time the Norwegian came off nine minutes later, Arsenal had scored three more.
Not to mention that the trio were disastrous themselves after coming on. Gallagher failed to close Myles Lewis-Skelly down in midfield as his mazy run provided an assist for the hosts’ second, and Baena did not track Eze’s late run into the box which resulted in the ball falling kindly for Viktor Gyökeres to bag the third. The Englishman then lost track of the dangerous Gabriel from a corner, allowing the Brazilian a free header at the far post to assist Gyökeres for the fourth, and his second of the night. The man marking the Swede in the middle this time? Ruggeri. You simply could not have written it better.
By the time Thiago Almada and Antoine Griezmann came on for Sørloth and Giuliano in the 72nd minute, the tie was comfortably over.
Questions will rightfully be raised about Cholo’s decision making, just as they were after the opening day defeat at Espanyol, and there are simply no excuses for letting games slip in this manner considering the players he now has on hand.
To end this section with some positivity, though, there should remain some optimism for knockout qualification chances in this tournament. With injuries, the core unit has not played together as much until now, and the cohesion should only get better from here. Or at least, that is the hope.
