LaLiga Preview: Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid Need to Get Going—Fast

It had all grown frantic to the point of being desperate. One after another, attacks piled up and the tension grew, but when the relief finally arrived, it was taken away almost immediately. 

Atletico Madrid 1, Alaves 1. 

"They only had one shot on goal," manager Diego Simeone bemoaned afterward, early on Monday morning. "Considering what we could have got from the game, we feel a little short-changed. We tried everything tonight. It leaves a bad taste not getting what we wanted. We should have taken more."

He was right, Atletico should have: Though Kevin Gameiro's late penalty was wiped out by Manu Garcia's wonder strike with the last kick of the game, the shot count had read 27 to two, Gameiro had missed a sitter, Fernando Torres and Yannick Carrasco had hit the woodwork, and Alaves goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco had made a string of saves. 

Sound familiar? Well, sort of.

Simeone and his players know a thing or two about being on the other side of all that, but this season the intention is to continue evolving away from such an existence.

For the second straight year, they've beefed up in attack over the summer, adding Gameiro and Nicolas Gaitan to a cast that includes Antoine Griezmann, Carrasco, Torres and Angel Correa. Combining with that bunch, the ongoing emergence of Saul Niguez and Koke in midfield gives Atleti a potent look, and yet here they are with one point and one goal after tackling Alaves. 

They need to get going. And fast. 

On Saturday night, Atleti head only a few miles south to take on another newly promoted club in Leganes, who are fresh from an opening win over Celta Vigo. Atleti will point to Real Madrid's 0-0 draw with Sporting Gijon this time last year to stress there's no need for panic at this early stage, and that's true. But the wider context is important here, too. 

Simeone has often spoken in the past of his club's chances in LaLiga being dependent on activity around them.

"We have to prepare as a team for when Real Madrid and Barcelona are not so attentive," he told Onda Cero (h/t Reuters) last May. "[In 2014], they were not so focussed. To become champions again, we have to work to finish second, third and when they get distracted win the title again."

For all the astonishing progress Simeone has made at the Vicente Calderon, he's still aware that a little fortune is required. Toppling the two biggest clubs on the planet needs some inadvertent cooperation from them, and that's the thing: This doesn't look like such a year. 

Since Simeone's arrival in 2011, this is the first time both Real Madrid and Barcelona have been settled across the board simultaneously. Until now, at least one of the league's giants has been working through issues at squad level or in the dugout as seasons have approached.

Indeed, Simeone has already seen Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez depart the Santiago Bernabeu, and Pep Guardiola, Tito Vilanova and Gerardo Martino move on from the Camp Nou. Atleti's boss has also watched Real rip up a Champions League-winning team in 2014, and he's competed fiercely with both clubs during the initially complex integrations of Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez. 

Such regular upheaval has helped Atletico. Changing and restructuring, their rivals have almost always been in transition to some degree, but now they're not. 

Both clubs have kept their cores intact this summer and added depth around them. Barcelona have welcomed Denis Suarez, Lucas Digne, Samuel Umtiti and Andre Gomes into already fearsome collection; Real Madrid have added Alvaro Morata and Marco Asensio to theirs. More than that, though, each of them have defined XIs, tactical clarity, balance and conviction in their encompassing idea and are led by managers in positions of strength in Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane. 

The result of that was seen on the opening weekend: Barcelona demolished Real Betis, and Real Madrid swatted away Real Sociedad with relative ease. These are clubs set to start at a furious pace.

If Atleti want to compete, they're going to need to do the same. 

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

On Saturday, it will help that Griezmann is available after sitting out the clash with Alaves due to a suspension carried over from last season. The Frenchman is typically the man who busts open such affairs, but there lies a concern within that fact. 

There is a hint of "dependencia" here. Marca's Euan McTear suggested that Atleti's draw on Sunday was a "scary glimpse of life without Griezmann," and there's something in that. The Euro 2016 star scored 35 percent of his team's league goals last term, and though Simeone's men dominated general play against Alaves, there was a chaotic nature to the way they attacked and a notable lack of incision.

Of course, removing a 30-goal striker can do that, but Simeone would have expected others to compensate for the Frenchman's absence. Instead, they highlighted it. 

There are other little niggles, too. 

Atleti's summer business was a clear indication that Simeone wants his team to be faster and more lethal. Stylistically, there's a shift in emphasis unfolding, but the Argentinian's use of two holding men in Gabi and Tiago against Alaves felt like conservative overkill. It also didn't go unnoticed that Atletico had 20 corners on Sunday but didn't look entirely threatening in the air. 

It was only one game, yes. But remember, this is the Atletico that scored 30 goals from set pieces just two seasons ago. In becoming slightly more technical, they've sacrificed a degree of that rugged threat; the idea is a more dynamic existence will outweigh that on the scoreboard, but Atletico are still in the process of getting to that existence. 

Under Simeone's watch, you trust that they will. The issue right now is that, because of the ominous look of Barcelona and Real Madrid, they don't have a lot of time to do so. 

Valencia on the Edge

It all felt so familiar: the brittleness of the defence, the wastefulness from out wide and the dejection in the stands. 

As you were, then. 

Every new season brings with it the hope for a fresh start, but Valencia's 4-2 loss to Las Palmas on Monday felt more like a continuation of 2015-16. At times, the hosts were fluent—Santi Mina and Alvaro Medran in particular were promising—but still lingering were the vulnerabilities of last term and the wider sense of this being a club on the edge of an identity crisis. 

"I am sad and disappointed by the result but satisfied by the performance of the team," said manager Pako Ayestaran afterward. "I want the team to have an identity and that it is noticeable."

There might have been hints of that, but forging one on the pitch is difficult when there isn't one off it. Ayestaran insisted Shkodran Mustafi and Paco Alcacer wouldn't be sold, but most think differently. If they depart, they'll add to a list that includes Andre Gomes, Rodrigo De Paul, Antonio Barragan, Javi Fuego, Pablo Piatti, Sofiane Feghouli and Alvaro Negredo. 

It's true that Valencia were content letting some of those names go, but the exodus has been more enforced than desired. As outlined by Andy Brassell at Bleacher Report this week, this is the result of wayward management since Peter Lim's takeover in 2014 that's left the club in a state of inertia and engulfed in awkward questions: 

"

What this line from the past to the present tells us, though, is that nothing has changed post-takeover. Lim’s acquisition might have saved Valencia from financial ruin, but the much-trumpeted new direction is yet to come into view. Where is the club going? How does it intend to build? Most importantly, who is it being run for?

"

On Saturday, Valencia travel north to take on Eibar. Return home to Mestalla with nothing, and things could get nasty. 

Not to be Missed

• Sevilla take on Villarreal on Sunday night in what should be the match of the round. The simple fact that these teams are expected to compete for a place in the top four makes it such, but what pushes it beyond doubt is Jorge Sampaoli. Last weekend, the Argentinian sent Sevilla out in a 2-1-5-2 against Espanyol to win 6-4 in a game that could have easily finished 10-6. His team is wonderfully bonkers.

• Real Madrid have that look about them. Celta Vigo won't be relishing their trip to the Bernabeu.

• Athletic Bilbao will feel similarly about their visit from Barcelona.

• Las Palmas' win over Valencia was no fluke. After a storming finish to 2015-16, Quique Setien's men look poised for a strong season, and the best part is they play some of the most entertaining football in the league. On Sunday, they welcome Paco Jemez's Granada. Fun.

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All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com.