Atlético de Madrid goes into this Sunday’s derby at the Metropolitano (9:00 p.m., Dazn) lacking a better offensive game and time to have worked harder, according to what Diego Pablo Simeone said this Saturday. “It is a job that we have from here on out, when we have a little more time, getting to know the players more to encourage us to do more things,” admitted the red and white coach. Defender of the classic manual that says that teams are built from behind, Simeone has been forced to prioritize the premise given the alarming defensive fragility that the team exhibited last year, the worst from the midfield back in the almost 13 years that He is on the red and white bench. For the first time in the Simeone era, Atlético defended worse than they attacked. A paradox in Simeone’s history that has not occurred so far this season. Under his direction it has been more common to defend well than to attack. When he achieved that balance, the two league titles arrived and he twice touched the long-awaited Champions League.
“Today we are still in the process of doing what we believe gives us more balance and allows us to generate better combinations,” Simeone confirmed. The defense’s work does seem to have come together. Oblak has only conceded four goals in seven league games. LeNormand and Giménez are very solid and both Azpilicueta and Reinildo, left-footed centre-backs, have been sober. It is adjusting and fine-tuning attacking football that still needs more work, according to Cholo. “It is difficult to change what we have been doing in two days, from Thursday’s game to Sunday. It is a job that we have from here on out.”
Until now, what Simeone has tried to work on the most to improve his attacking play has to do with the position of the midfielders and the attackers who drop back. He has insisted that De Paul, Gallagher, Griezmann or Correa get used to standing behind the rival midfielders to receive. Of all of them, Griezmann is the one who interprets it the best. It is important for Simeone that this order goes through to improve the game. Already in Vigo, the victory against Celta (0-1) could not hide from the eyes of the Argentine coach the poor attacking play exhibited by his team. His diagnosis was resounding. “We have to improve offensively. Me first, finding who can partner best to find that game. We need to play better on offense and we have to do it. We have to take a better step from the game. It is a challenge,” warned Cholo. The issue worries the Argentine coach, who knows he is stretched by the expectations generated by the arrival of millionaire reinforcements for the attacking game such as Alexander Sorloth (40 million) and, above all, Julián Alvarez (90). The latter, with his unmarking and that soft touch advancing the outside of his right boot, and Griezmann, with his pass, were a green shoot in Balaídos in that search for sharp connections that hurt rival defenses. Simeone is urged to make this partnership appear more frequently to finish activating Julián Alvarez, who has so far made more efforts in pressing than with real weight in the attacking game.
Simeone also needs to establish a midfield that connects well with the forwards. Pablo Barrios’ injury has been a setback due to the high pace of play that the youth squad was showing. Gallagher has taken that baton and with two goals he has shown that he can be one of the best finishers in the championship when he comes from intermediate positions. Barrios’ loss has already made him play several stretches of games more focused and behind. For tonight it is normal for De Paul, Koke and Gallagher to form the midfield.
Getting the ball out from behind is another pending subject. Without Hermoso, Atlético has lost a pure left-footed center back who broke lines with low passes from his own field or even when passing to the opponent. With Lenglet still undergoing the most severe mili that Simeone applies to the signings he doubts, until now Giménez’s precise long crosses have been the only resource to stretch the team in the face of high pressure from the rival. If Madrid puts it into practice tonight, Simeone will need that game that he is missing and looking for.
