Atlético dominates LaLiga and against Sevilla he took a giant step by consuming the winter championship despite having played two rounds less than Real Madrid and Barcelona, his first pursuers. A team directed for more than nine years by a Simeone which, far from having settled into immobility, is more innovative than ever.
El Cholo, together with Nélson Vivas as second, has put into practice the saying 'renew or die' and has done it with a daring style and so far with unappealable results. Atlético started the season with their traditional 4-4-2 that they have been accompanying the coach for so many years (the favorite system since the 2012-13 season, with the pair above Falcao and Diego Costa), but with certain modifications. Against Granada, in a close game with a 6-1 win, Koke went on to play double pivot, something that he had been doing sporadically every year, but without regularity, since the captain always ended up on the wing. A midfielder with Saúl that allowed to place two vertical and very offensive players on the sides (Correa and Carrasco), with João Félix with total freedom of movement and Costa on the point. A system that strengthened the Portuguese, at the cost of losing muscle in the middle, and a team that was looking for the goal with determination, leaving behind Savic and Felipe and on the sides Trippier and Lodi.
In that meeting they waited from the bench Luis Suárez, newcomer to the team, Llorente and a Thomas whose future remained in the air. However, the two punctures against Huesca and Villarreal led Simeone to his first turn of the screw. Without the Ghanaian in the club, Atlético Balaidos visited with his classic four-back defense (Manu Sánchez of great novelty), Koke again in the double pivot, this time with the debutant Torreira, Correa and Lemar on the sides and two classic tips above, Suárez and Costa. An experiment that went well until the Hispanic-Brazilian broke. Less game between the lines without João, but two references above so that one would go down to receive and touch face and the other would throw the unmarking into space. They would not meet again on the field in an eleven until the departure of Costa.
Munich, before and after
The team generated chances, always with the clear mission of supplying balls to Suárez in the area, the great driver of style change, but with the first big stone on the road came the bump. The visit to the almighty Bayern, who does not forgive the chances he has and who destroyed an Atleti with his definition that generated danger but did not materialize his opportunities. A very hard 4-0, but that probably helped Simeone to take the step and make a decision: place a line of three centers with two lanes. Something that allowed a greater shield to continue betting on Koke in the middle, a player who gives a lot of fluidity to the game and tactical rigor and who has completely empowered players like Beautiful or trippier. The Englishman, used to playing as a winger with his national team, is more comfortable than ever, contributing a lot in attack and always having Savic watching his back.
With Beautiful, a great exit of the ball is gained from behind and is less exposed to the melee with the rival tip, where he suffers more than his teammates Giménez, Felipe and Savic. Enhance your strengths and hide the game phases that may cost you more. In addition, the Madrilenian has a versatility that allows him play as a left back when the party requires it. All this powered by the total defensive commitment shown by Carrasco, who does not stop working the left wing. His great reward came against Barcelona, where he scored the winning goal. A system change that has also led to the best Herrera since his arrival at Atleti. On the other side of the scale, players like Lodi or Saúl have suffered a loss of prominence and Torreira or Kondogbia greater difficulty in entering the schemes.
Lemar conditions the new eleven
However, when Simeone seemed to have found his ideal eleven with Savic-Giménez-Hermoso forming a line of three behind that frees the pivots and Trippier and Carrasco of lanes in attack, with Koke in the middle next to a more positional companion between Saúl, Herrera, Torreira or Kondogbia, Llorente ahead, João Félix or Correa as second striker and Luis Suárez up, A new modification has arrived in the system, where a drop in the performance of João Félix is added, with ankle problems, with Lemar's game blast.
Simeone has always said that he does not marry anyone and that whoever can offer the best performance will play, something that has been clear with the last substitutions of players of the weight of the Portuguese or Saúl. Lemar took a step forward in Atlético's only mole in the League, when he was surpassed by Madrid in the derby and his entry was one of the team's few bright spots in the second half. Since then, he has been more and more protagonist. Add five consecutive league games in the eleven, In a more interior position that has caused Cholo to have modified his scheme to see the best level of the Frenchman, more similar than ever to the one who went to look for Monaco.
So that Lemar can occupy that position as a playmaker with freedom of movement, Koke has lowered his position to the pivot, the player with the greatest responsibility when kicking the ball, but also defensively with the great mission of preventing the team from breaking. The captain steps on less area, loses his last pass, looks less, but offers a tactical rigor and an impeccable dark work. As well Llorente must delay his position, now in defense closer to the double pivot in which he lived so long before exploding with Simeone as an offensive player. Of course, without losing their diagonals to space that do so much damage to rivals. For his part Lemar offers a lot of deployment to be the first to go to pressure and cover any gap, mainly on the left wing, doubling Carrasco at work.
But also, Correa entered for João Félix to be closer to the right side, something that opens spaces inside and brings a lot of work against powerful teams like Sevilla. The Argentine offers greater physical deployment, back and forth and defensive rigor and composes a team where everyone sacrifices and that, with the score in favor, becomes a practically impregnable fortress. In attack, the 10 'has total freedom to move inside with Trippier always reaching the baseline.
Now, Cholo is obliged to shake his squad again, since he loses to Ipurua due to a suspension against Koke, perhaps the most important player on the field, and Hermoso suffered a sprained ankle that makes him doubtful. Furthermore, the arrival of Dembélé offers a new alternative for Simeone. A fast tip, with the ability to run into space and that can enhance the counterattack. Once the transition is over, you are seeing a new Atlético, very rich tactically and who does not renounce anything thanks to a squad whose internal competition will mark which is the ceiling of the team.