The reasons for the downturn of Atleti

Atlético's options for the league title are complicated. The rojiblanco team has been losing a huge mattress that he had reaped in his fantastic first lap and, although he still depends on himself to finish champion, the feelings have changed. If a few months ago it was a solvent team, almost indestructible behind and that dominated with and without the ball, supplying many balls in the area to Suárez, he is now going through his worst moment of the season and after losing against Sevilla, will have to visit Betis with the insured casualties of the Uruguayan and Llorente, their most important players in attack, in addition to that of Kondogbia, all of them due to suspension.

The team led by Simeone has suffered a downturn in the game that has also been severely penalized in terms of results, going from adding 50 points (out of 57 possible) in the first 19 league matches to 16 (out of 30) in the last ten, where games have been escaping for different reasons that have complicated a lot the title that seemed so well on the way. It has also affected the growth of Barcelona and Real Madrid, more and more forceful in their parties, so that that income has been reduced by leaps and bounds.

But in the end, that constant loss of points has been in the hands of Atlético, in some cases dramatically, letting the victory slip away against Celta and Real Madrid in the last moments, or without getting the goal that broke the scoreboard against Getafe despite generating many chances before the final whistle and especially the two consecutive punctures against Levante, where everything went wrong. Confidence has been declining and with it solvency.

The fall of the team has been most noticeable in both areas, due to a decrease in offensive production and dominance in the game also reflected on Oblak's goal. Atlético defeated Cádiz in the team's nineteenth match in the League to reach 50 points with a balance of 40 goals in favor (2.10 per game) and 10 against (0.52 per game). From there it has been marked eleven goals in the last ten games (1.1) and conceding nine (0.9), with the elimination of Champions being subdued by Chelsea in between. The rivals have adapted to the rojiblanco game system with three center-backs and two lanes and have begun to block the team's plays with those that generated the most danger, such as Trippier's ball to uncheck Llorente into space.

The team with the most coronavirus cases

It should be noted, without serving as justification, that a lot of importance in the team's retreat has come from coronavirus cases. All this in a stage where Trippier was also sanctioned by FIFA when he was a fundamental player in the Cholo scheme. Atlético has been the most affected team in LaLiga by the disease and the problems began to multiply when Hermoso, Carrasco, João Félix, Herrera, Lemar and Dembélé were affected by COVID-19. Fundamental players who coincided in their losses affecting from the duel against Celta and the two games against Levante, where only two points out of nine possible were added. Meanwhile, his rivals for the title have hardly had cases of the disease.

Except for Lemar, which today is probably the most enlightened player with the ball in the center of the rojiblanco field, the rest of the players have not recovered their best version prior to the coronavirus. Carrasco and João Félix started the course at an excellent level, being fundamental in a team that generated a lot of offensive football, but since then they have not found regularity. And in the case of Herrera, The Mexican went from being one of the great news of the season due to his step forward with the ball, blending in very well with Koke in the middle to generate football in a pivot position, to be missing after joining the disease with various muscle injuries.

Atlético is no longer in command of the game, they have lost the ability to do damage in the pressure, to feel like a protagonist with the ball and have seen how the rival scores more easily, which has caused the team draw more and more over your area to try to stop the bleeding. Simeone continues to line up offensive players, but playing in their own field for many minutes and without the ball they suffer a lot. The one who most notice the decline in the game is probably a Luis Suárez who led the table for Pichichi and who in recent games sees how it is increasingly difficult to generate chances. Against Chelsea he always lived in his own field with his back turned, but in games like Sevilla or against Getafe in the first half the script has been the same.

Oblak continues to make great saves game after game, but the team plays at the mercy of the rival and in the end living so close to their own area means that any center or shot can be dangerous. The Slovenian has saved two penalties in the last two games, but not even his miracles are enough.. Several footballers in the squad are far from their best version and the team has gone from having a great wardrobe fund to some terrible problems to face the losses of any starter. The differences between those most used by Simeone and his surrogates have been amplified.

The bottom of the wardrobe declines

The Saúl, Lodi, Vrsaljko, Felipe, Kondogbia, Torreira, Vitolo or Dembélé They are not in the dynamics of the game and their contribution is insufficient. And among the headlines there is not as much brightness as at the beginning of the course. There is no one who can be the reference above if Suárez is not there or is not found during a match, There is also no other exit of the ball beyond Koke and Giménez has also been alternating physical problems. Diego Costa's departure left the lead without the natural substitute at the top, as Dembélé has also been experiencing physical problems since his arrival in January.

But Atlético is in time to recover. With no more competitions than LaLiga, the last nine days are life or death. There is more time to prepare for matches, the more muscularly exhausted players like Koke, Llorente, Suárez and company will have more time to recover and João Félix and Carrasco could be back next week. There is a direct duel against Barcelona, ​​who will also have to face Real Madrid next week. The feelings are not good, but Atlético depends on itself and in the first round they already defeated eight of the nine rivals ahead. It is time for the brave, not to give up and take a step forward when the team is having the worst time. Reflect and try to return to the reliable and bossy team at the beginning of the year, let the pressure affect your mind and think only about the next game. There is League and hope.