Could Atlético Madrid miss out on next season’s Champions League?
Atlético Madrid are in a state of real danger domestically, and without the cushion of their Europa League pedigree, they must improve to remain in Europe’s elite club competition.
It was always going to be a season for transition for Atlético Madrid. After losing cornerstone pieces such as Antoine Griezmann, Rodri, Lucas Hernandez, Diego Godín, Filipe Luís, and Juanfran, the squad needed a massive overhaul.
In the eyes of many, they were brilliantly replaced, with João Félix, Felipe Monteiro, Kieran Trippier, Renan Lodi, and Héctor Herrera coming last summer. After an exciting preseason, I believe many underestimated the amount of time that this rebuild would actually take after losing the core of the squad across the last five or so seasons under Diego Simeone.
Although this is a transition year, the expectation remains around Atleti. They are a top-tier Spanish club, and sitting in seventh place after 16 matches with just 16 goals scored (the lowest of any team in the top 13) simply is not good enough. Although the Big Three of Spanish football have tended to separate from the pack in recent seasons, sides such as Real Sociedad and Sevilla have closed the gap, and with Valencia recovering from poor form early in the season, there will be a huge competition for the top four.
Los Rojiblancos will have been pleased to advance in second place from Champions League Group D, but without the possibility of winning the Europa League to seal their place in next season’s competition, even more pressure will mount on this young side’s league campaign. Atleti have a track record of big success in the Europa League, winning it three times since 2009-10, and it comes with the coveted prize of a Pot 1 spot in the following season’s Champions League.
The main issue with this team obviously lies in attack, but the defense has not been as solid as the Atlético teams of recent memory. While conventional wisdom holds that they will improve as the season goes on, this year could be a different proposition, due to just how new this team is and the improvement of the sides around Los Colchoneros in the table.
There is a lack of identity at the Wanda Metropolitano at the moment. There was a promise of free-flowing attacking football, but this remains at odds with the pragmatic style of Simeone, leaving the team caught in between two minds. They will need to make a decision, to either commit to attacking football like their summer window indicated, or fall back into their defensive structure and stability of old, albeit with less talented players.
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Simeone has shown that he has the ability to work out of difficult situations, but qualifying for the Champions League this season could be one of his toughest tasks. With added competition and losing the potential security blanket of a relatively weak Europa League field, it will be a challenge to improve across the rest of the league season, and we will see if Atleti are up to the task.