La Liga Preview: Are Simeone's Atletico Madrid Already out of the Title Race?

Even if it hasn't been made explicit to them, most are aware that courting a partner isn't usually advisable while you're sharing a flat with another. In a world that frowns on such activity, doing so is anything from risky to scandalous depending on who stumbles across your shady WhatsApp thread. But Diego Simeone doesn't care. 

This week the Atletico Madrid boss wasn't so much secretly buying jewellery as he was videoing himself hanging it around the other girl's neck. Listening to him openly state his intention to manage Inter Milan at some point in the future was a little like hearing your brother-in-law announce his plans to go back to his previous wife while standing next to your sister. 

At his pre-match press conference on Monday ahead of Atletico's clash with Bayern Munich in the Champions League the following night, Simeone was asked about the remarks from his son, Giovanni, that he would one day head to Italy's north. 

"He's my son, I speak to him all the time," said the Atleti boss. "My sons, my wife, my dad...they all know that one day I will coach Inter. It's hardly front page news."

He was right about that. The following day his comments didn't make the covers of Marca or AS, and Simeone has declared this intention before; several times, in fact.

Still, though, this was significant. How it was said matters, and so does when it was said. There was no deflection or ducking the question or wheeling out of the platitudes; Simeone delivered it straight up at a time when there's been a shift in the mood around his tenure, the end feeling closer than ever before. If this was Cosmopolitan, we'd be suggesting he was mentally checking out of the relationship (we, err, think). 

It's this background picture that now casts a certain shadow over Atletico's season. The men from the Vicente Calderon are only nine points behind leaders Real Madrid, but that gap feels bigger than it is. Atleti's performances have slipped in recent weeks, and there's been evidence of internal niggle that's striking at a club whose unity has been a defining characteristic during this historic surge. 

All's not well, not quite. Last weekend, the scoreless draw with Espanyol at the Calderon was damaging in a round when Real Madrid and Barcelona each dropped points by splitting the honours in the Clasico. You can't miss those chances in La Liga if you're Atleti, and as it unfolded, you couldn't shake the sense that the Simeone era was starting to slow just a fraction. 

Frustrated, the Argentinian labelled Espanyol's defensive work "almost perfect" and admitted he saw some of his own team in the Catalans. "They played a good game defensively, and we have sometimes done that too—we have won playing like Espanyol have," he said afterward, per the Press Association (h/t ESPN FC). 

But watching Simeone on the touchline was a different experience to normal. You don't have to have a doctorate in psychology to grasp his mood in his technical area. If he was any more of an emotional open book out there he'd have a few dozen signatures on his chest next to some dates and arrival times. 

As Espanyol closed spaces like the trash compactor in Stars Wars IV, and as scarce chances passed Atleti by—Antoine Griezmann is still trying to work out how he smashed a shot from the edge of the six-yard box straight at Espanyol goalkeeper Diego Lopez—there was less fire from Simeone, less edginess. He looked subdued and, toward the end, almost a touch resigned. 

Afterward, he remarked that the "championship is long and there will be difficulties for everyone." It's natural to take a degree of comfort in others' struggles when experiencing some of your own, but it doesn't make yours go away. 

On Monday, Atletico head east to El Madrigal to face Villarreal on the back of a run in which they've only won two of their last six in the league. That stretch has seen them comprehensively outplayed by Sevilla and Real Sociedad before being taken apart by Real Madrid in the derby. The first two of those hinted at concerns; the third was just un-Atletico. 

The same could said of the internal sparring. It was back in August after a draw with Leganes when Griezmann made the comment to beIN Sports that "if we continue like this, we'll be fighting relegation." Saul Niguez responded by telling Deportes Cuatro (h/t AS' Javier de Pas): "You can't say that. We have values."

Not everyone was listening, though. Ahead of the derby, club captain Gabi delivered an assessment that was uncomfortably critical of his own.

"Koke is playing in the middle," he said. "He's doing it well but perhaps when it comes to defending we're more fragile. We need to go back to being a strong team at the back with everyone working together."

According to AS' Aled Bryon, it went down like a horizontal chicken bone with the boss. 

For a club that has forged a togetherness so tight that it's looked as though the players have been connected to one another by mortar, the current picture looks a little off. That's been reflected on the pitch, where Atleti's identity hasn't been as clear as it once was. The shift to a more expansive method has proved difficult, and now they're retreating on that front. 

Simeone doesn't take many backward steps, but returning to Gabi and Tiago in the heart of midfield in recent weeks, and recalling the crash-and-bash Jose Gimenez, has represented a reach out for a security blanket.

That was probably necessary in order to plug the holes that started appearing as Atleti uncharacteristically conceded eight goals in four games prior to the trip to face Osasuna. But it's also left them in a position in which it's difficult to know which way they're moving.

"Progression is going forwards. Going backwards is regression. Going sideways is just gression," Noel Gallagher famously once said. Maybe that's it.

The coming weekend's scheduling will also heighten the pressure on Simeone and his players. Barcelona and Real Madrid—who face Osasuna and Deportivo La Coruna, respectively, on Saturday—could well have widened the gap by the time Atleti walk out to face Villarreal. But it's not only them: Sevilla could have pulled further ahead of them, too, and both Athletic Club Bilbao and Real Sociedad could have leapfrogged them. 

Lose on Monday, and it's curtains in the league. But there's a chance it might be anyway even if they win. Nine points is a hefty deficit to make up against a Real Madrid team that have gone 34 games unbeaten in all competitions and haven't lost in the league for more than nine months.

It's worth remembering that in the current decade every team that has owned a lead like Real's now this far into a season has gone on to win the title, and the problem for Atleti is that Zinedine Zidane's men still haven't hit anything close to top gear.  

But Atleti's cut-adrift position in the league at present is about themselves more than their neighbours. There's an unfamiliar vibe coming from the Calderon that has its roots in the uncertainty around the man in charge—the man who expressed doubts after the Champions League final; the man who negotiated a reduction in the length of his contract; the man who this week told Inter he's coming; the man whose reign now has a visible end point. 

This weekend might change things, of course. But it might not, too. 

Not to Be Missed 

• "Relegation is a reality," Rodrigo told AS' Julian Burgos this week, and he's right. Valencia enter the weekend with only three wins in 14 games and sit in 17th place, level on points with Sporting Gijon in the bottom three.
  
  On Saturday they travel to Anoeta to meet a strong Real Sociedad; lose, and there's every chance they'll sink lower again. So how far can this whole thing sink? Right to the bottom, if they're not careful. "We need the humility to recognise the situation we are in," Rodrigo added. 

• This season's form guide is a tricky beast. A week ago, Deportivo La Coruna looked like a simple assignment for Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, where the teams meet on Saturday night. Then Depor went and annihilated Real Sociedad 5-1 on Monday—the same Real Sociedad that had looked more like Barcelona than Barcelona the week before.
  
  Maybe Madrid will have their hands full. Or maybe not. Form seems to mean bugger all this season. 

• Expect Barcelona to take out some Sergio Ramos-fuelled frustration on Osasuna on Saturday. 

• The scorelines from seven of Celta Vigo's last eight league games make for quite the sight: 4-3, 0-5, 4-1, 3-3, 2-1, 3-1, 3-3. On Sunday they welcome Jorge Sampaoli's Sevilla. Buckle up. 

• It hasn't been pretty, but Espanyol are on the move. Seven clean sheets in eight and three wins in their last six have propelled the Catalans up the table. You now sense there's something building at Cornella, where Quique Sanchez Flores' men host Sporting on Sunday. A win would have Espanyol heading into next week's Catalan derby in fine fettle. 

• There's a Basque derby this weekend. No, not that one. Another one, one of the many of them this season: Eibar vs. Alaves.
  
  A win for Eibar could take them into the European places if other results fall their way. If clubs were ranked by points per seat or per Euro spent, the men from the Ipurua would be the best performing club in Europe.