Rejoice, Colchoneros! Atlético Madrid have won their first away game of the season. And to top it off, they kept a clean sheet as well. What a day, huh?
The two-goal victory in Seville was the side’s fourth
win in the last five league games, a stark change in form from just one win in the first five. It also ensured that the Rojiblancos held fourth spot in the table and moved within one point of third-place Villarreal — not to mention, within three points of FC Barcelona in second.. The gap to leaders Real Madrid is a stretch further at eight points after their victory in Sunday’s Clásico, but you would take that considering Atlético’s poor start to the season.
More importantly, a slip-up could have seen Diego Simeone’s side end the game-week in sixth and allow the hosts Real Betis to leapfrog them. It would also have possibly led to a total meltdown on this column but, thankfully, we come away from our travels with positives to discuss.
Better signs on the road
Did I already mention that Atleti won away from home? Well, there is the first and biggest takeaway. Because we desperately needed that.
In four away games prior, the Rojiblancos picked up a mere three points and scored just a single goal in each game. The flip side is that they had only lost one, but dropping nine points from a possible 12 in your first few away games rarely sets you up for success. Especially considering that the quality of the coming opposition was, respectfully, higher.
This fixture was far more daunting than the result suggests. Real Betis are no pushovers, with the side firmly challenging for the Champions League spots in these opening games. Even after yesterday’s result, Betis still sit just two points off Atlético, which only reinforces the importance winning a head-to-head match with Manuel Pellegrini’s men.
The Rojiblancos’ next three league away games are on Nov. 23, Dec. 7 and Dec. 21 against Getafe, Athletic Club and Girona respectively. Failure to win yesterday would have left Cholo’s side winless on the road for nearly three months at least, a run which possibly could have extended until around Christmas. For a club with trophy ambitions, that would have been outright embarrassing.
That is not to say that this victory excuses the away form, and a failure to follow this up would result in an almost-equally bad situation come Christmas. However, for now, the Rojiblancos can quell some of the criticism.
Josema breathes new life into the defence
Atlético have kept consecutive clean sheets in the league for the first time this season. For a side that simply could not keep opposition out for seven out of their first eight games, they have now done it twice in just over a week. The magic sauce? A certain Uruguayan center-back.
Even as he turns 30, José María Giménez continues to be the rock of this Atleti backline. After watching him play over the past three games, including the midweek Champions League fixture against Arsenal, I do not think I could ever go back to watching the defence without him. Let’s not forget, three of Arsenal’s four goals came immediately after Josema was taken off, and that in itself should be an indictment of his impact in the side.
Giménez’s influence is also rubbing off on his teammates. Robin Le Normand looks far better paired with the Uruguayan as compared to Clément Lenglet and, while Dávid Hancko struggled in midweek, he looks far more comfortable on the ball now. The Slovakian was Atleti’s joint-leader for passes into the final third (7), tied with the unstoppable Marcos Llorente; Hancko had the freedom to play out from the back and get forward with Josema covering for him.
Josema’s presence in the heart of this defence breathes life into it, and Atleti look a far better side as a direct result of it.
Tactical tweaks
For the tactical nerds out there, this section is for you. How many of you noticed that, for what might be the first time in forever (and maybe ever), Cholo started a game with just a single striker up front? I certainly cannot think of another game off the top of my head, especially when other starting forwards were available. And yet Alexander Sørloth, Antoine Griezmann and Giacomo Raspadori watched on from the sidelines as Julián Alvarez lined up by himself up top.
The older fans among us fondly remember the 4-4-2, but about five years ago Cholo made the switch to the 3-5-2 which allowed him to better control the midfield areas, especially with more teams starting to play a 4-3-3. With the 3-5-2 he could now match opponents numerically in midfield, creating a 3v3 and reducing the likelihood that Atlético would get cut open through the centre. On Monday, he veered away from this, starting with what was almost a 3-4-3. Álex Baena and Giuliano Simeone lined up as narrow wingers in the front line. There were no real changes off the ball, with the same 4-4-2, 3-5-2 and even a 5-4-1 shape visible throughout.
This could be a significant development going forward. Firstly, despite the result, the 3-4-3 was far from perfect. On several occasions, the Colchoneros found themselves reeling in transition upon losing possession with the players — especially Baena and Giuliano — unable to cover the spaces in midfield due to this new structure. Real Betis were not incisive enough to make them pay, but chances were definitely there to be taken. It is definitely a work in progress.
Secondly, barring the talismanic Alvarez, Atleti’s strike force has indeed been underwhelming so far this season. The Argentine has seven goals and four assists across all competitions while the other three forwards have a combined tally of five goals and one assist. Griezmann is aging, and his days as a regular starter in a congested schedule are probably done. The Frenchman has already flirted with a move to the United States in past seasons as well, and it is likely that he finally answers that call at the end of this one. Sørloth and Raspodori have failed to kick on, with the former particularly coming under fire in recent weeks; the latter has shown flashes in games, but nothing to really put him in contention for a starting spot since his summer move from Napoli.
On the other hand, Atleti’s midfield and wide areas are probably as stacked with quality as they have been in a while. Nicolás Gonzalez’s signing raised eyebrows, but he has been an excellent addition alongside Thiago Almada, who is also playing an inverting role from the left flank. Baena has also shown the ability to play a role there; he was fantastic while notching up his first goal for the side, and the Spaniard also adds quality in midfield. Koke and Pablo Barrios are currently holding the fort there, but Johnny Cardoso is making a return to training and can also factor in on his return. Down the right, Giuliano has made the spot his, but we are also aware of Llorente’s ability to fill in if needed.
With all this in mind, playing a 3-4-3, or at least a version of it, might just make sense. It could even switch to a 4-3-3, much like Atleti currently alternate between a 4-4-2 and 3-5-2.
Cholo has never been afraid to experiment and famously adapts his tactics to suit each opponent, but we could be at a point where he wants something different from his side. After all, success now means much more for the Rojiblancos and to win silverware, the best players need to be on the pitch. If that means tweaking the formation and style of play, then that needs to happen.
