MADRID 14 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Atlético de Madrid and Athletic Club have emerged as alternatives to FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in the fight for the LaLiga EA Sports title thanks to a practically immaculate month of November and the beginning of September in the case of both, which has served to, in a mattress key, be in a position to equal the culés in the leadership, and in that of the ‘lions’, place themselves six points from first place.
The season is very long, and on many occasions, the League is a matter of moments, of taking advantage of the favorable wave and advancing as much as possible towards the title. And those include Atlético de Madrid and Athletic Club. The colchoneros, who made the largest outlay of the last decade in the transfer market, seem to have found regularity. There are now five victories in the league championship, where the only setbacks since October are the draw at the Reale Arena and the defeat at the Benito Villamarín, to which they add another five between the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
A stability similar to that found by Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Club. In the case of the ‘zurigorri’, there are four consecutive wins in the domestic championship, in which they have not lost since matchday 9, with a cruel defeat in Montilivi against Girona (2-1) in which they failed up to three penalties.
After that, eight consecutive EA Sports LaLiga games in which Athletic have added 18 of a possible 24 points, a return that has allowed them to establish themselves in fourth place and close the gap with the leader to six points. In total, between the Cup and the Europa League, there are twelve matches without losing and the last six with a victory.
Two very positive dynamics that dictate a lot with what the first two in the table, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, are currently going through. The culé team, despite continuing to be the leader, is immersed in the worst moment of the season, and has only been able to win one of the last five league games, adding five of 15 possible points. For their part, Carlo Ancelotti’s men continue to have their best feelings as was clear last week with the defeat in San Mamés.
Thus, the panorama of the championship, with Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid with one game less than Athletic and Barcelona, places the first four classified only six points away. A margin between the ‘Top 4’ that, at this point in the season, had not occurred since the 2019-2020 season, in which FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Getafe were separated by five points after 17 games played.
Another data that speaks of the great moment of Atlético de Madrid and Athletic Club is their forcefulness in the areas, especially in their own. A common characteristic for teams that end up fighting to win leagues is defensive solidity, and with it the colchoneros have recovered one of the hallmarks of Simeone’s team. With 11 goals conceded, Atlético is, along with Real, the team with the fewest goals scored in LaLiga EA Sports.
For its part, Athletic Club seems to have found the defensive performance that allowed Unai Simón to win the ‘Zamora’ trophy last season. In the streak of eight consecutive games without losing, Ernesto Valverde’s team has conceded only five goals, managing to keep a clean sheet against Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Mallorca.
ATLÉTICO REFINES THEIR AIM AND DISTRIBUTES ENERGY
Furthermore, on an offensive level, Atlético de Madrid has emerged as one of the best attacks in LaLiga EA Sports and in the last three games they have averaged almost four goals per game. In general terms, Simeone’s men are already the third best attack in the competition with 30 goals, only four less than Real Madrid, and their three forwards, Antoine Griezmann, Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sorloth, have already reached the figure of five goals in League.
Another fact that invites optimism for the people of Madrid and the Basques is the minute management of Simeone and Valverde. Atlético de Madrid only has two outfield players who have exceeded 1,100 minutes of play at this point in the season, José María Giménez and Antoine Griezmann, while at Athletic only Iñaki Williams and Dani Vivian surpass them.
In this sense, the case of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is very different. In the case of the current champions, Fede Valverde, Antonio Rüdiger and Kylian Mbappé have already exceeded that number of minutes, more accentuated in the leader with Íñigo Martínez, Raphinha, Pau Cubarsí, Jules Koundé, Robert Lewandowski, Pedri González, Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde. Data that demonstrates the leap in quality in the Atlético and Athletic squads and that can be decisive in extending the fight for the championship as long as possible.