Set Pieces the Real Danger for Real Madrid Against Atletico

When Atletico Madrid’s Raul Garcia stuck out a leg to divert Koke’s left-wing corner into the back of the net in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup in mid-August, it marked the third consecutive final in which Real Madrid had conceded a set-piece goal to their neighbours.

Diego Godin had opening the scoring in May’s Champions League final with a flicked header in the aftermath of a set piece, while Atletico’s victory over Madrid in the final of 2013 Copa del Rey came courtesy of a Miranda header from a Koke cross following a partially cleared corner.

The run was nearly extended to four in the second leg. Garcia headed over from the centre of the penalty area and later volleyed onto the crossbar from two excellent deliveries.

Atletico’s set-piece prowess will certainly be causing Carlo Ancelotti genuine concern in the build-up to Saturday’s derby, not least after watching his side concede twice from dead-ball situations in their 4-2 defeat to Real Sociedad just prior to the international break.

The first came from a neatly worked corner routine, in which Gonzalo Castro’s near-post delivery was flicked on by Xabi Prieto and converted at the far post by Inigo Martinez. Sergio Ramos was caught flat-footed as Martinez drifted off his back to provide the finishing touch.

On the second, Carlos Vela controlled, span and finished on the six-yard line after a corner from the left had made its way uninterrupted across the centre of the penalty area.

On both occasions, Iker Casillas stayed rooted to his line.

AS' Marco Ruiz reported on Thursday that Ancelotti is considering employing Ramos at right-back for Saturday’s match in place of the injured Dani Carvajal, in part to provide his side with more of an aerial presence in defence.

Ramos is a centimetre shorter than the other option for the position, Alvaro Arbeloa, but has a better leap and is more physically imposing than the former Liverpool man. Shuffling him over to right-back would also allow Ancelotti to field his tallest centre-back, Raphael Varane.

Even if that is how Ancelotti decides to proceed, it is unlikely to be an effective strategy unless it is combined with significant work on the training ground.

It is not just height and physicality, combined with quality deliveries, that make Atletico such a threat. It is those factors, plus the sheer variety of their set-piece routines that make them so hard to deal with.

There is the near-post flick-on and far-post finish; the pass around the wall followed by a well-placed shot; the layoff and setup for a strike from the edge of the area; and, of course, the good old-fashioned towering header from an out-swinging corner.

In the second leg of the Super Cup tie, Atletico utilised a neat play in which a straight, flat delivery to Miranda was volleyed in the direction of two players rushing in towards the far post. Miranda’s volley was slightly overhit and eluded the runners, but the inventiveness of the routine was still to be applauded.

In an interview with ESPN Brazil (h/t David F. Sanchidrian of AS) in May, Simeone made it clear that intensive set-piece preparation has been one of the keys to Atletico’s success.

That training-ground work was certainly evident throughout last season. In La Liga, as per WhoScored.com, just under a quarter of Atletico’s goals were scored from set pieces; in the Champions League, as per Sky Sports, the proportion was even higher, at 38 percent.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

They have begun the new campaign in similar fashion, with Garcia’s Super Cup goal and the header from Miranda that opened the scoring in their 2-1 victory at home to Eibar.

There are, of course, other problems for Ancelotti to contend with in the build-up to the derby. His side have looked very disjointed so far this season, and Atletico’s swift, counter-attacking style is tailor-made to take advantage of the lack of midfield cover that was on clear view in the defeat to Real Sociedad.

But even if he is able to find solutions to Atletico’s threat from open play, recent history suggests that set pieces could prove to be Madrid’s undoing on Saturday.

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