Atletico Madrid vs. Juventus: Lessons Learned from Champions League Game
"It is a final, as is the next La Liga game against Valencia, and then the game against Espanyol," said Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, per ESPN, before his team faced Juventus at the Vicente Calderon.
The mantra was repeated continually last year, as his team reached the Champions League final and won the La Liga title.
Like on those many occasions, it wasn't technically a final, but it was a very important match for a side that had lost their opening game of the competition.
Juventus had a fantastic start to the tournament as they beat Malmo 2-0.
They have underachieved in recent seasons, with the feeling that they are now in their best shape to make a real impact.
Here are the lessons learnt from their encounter:
Koke Is Ready for the Next Step
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The Atletico Madrid midfielder has shown his ability in the last two years as both a No. 10 and when placed out wide.
With Gabi missing through an ankle injury and Mario Suarez out of form, it was a huge night for the playmaker as he dropped deeper into a central position.
The strength of Juventus' midfield is common knowledge, and even though Koke's side had less of the ball he was the standout player in this area.
Arturo Vidal still looks short of match fitness, and Paul Pogba was a figure of frustration, as he failed to influence the game.
Koke completed more passes in the attacking third than any other player and created three goalscoring opportunities in a very tight contest, via FourFourTwo Stats Zone.
Juventus Can Concede Goals
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The Italian's back three has still to be breached in Serie A this season; along with the win over Malmo they stood at six matches without conceding.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon hasn't been called upon that regularly, and the veteran had a fairly quiet night once more.
He will be disappointed, then, that his clean sheets record has come to an end.
The cross from Juanfran was inch-perfect, but there was no pressure on the cross, and the full-back had plenty of time to pick his spot.
With the system utilised by Massimiliano Allegri and his predecessor, Antonio Conte, it seems the most probable way to score against them is via crosses into the box.
Mandzukic's Presence Alone Causes Problems
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The big Croatian started the match wearing a protective face mask after fracturing his nose in his team's defeat at Olympiakos.
It lasted barely a quarter-hour, as Mario Mandzukic ripped the guard from his head.
Against three physical defenders, the forward made a constant nuisance of himself and relished the battle.
Leonardo Bonucci singled him out for some special attention at one stage, but there was no sign of any moaning about the situation.
His attempted backheel caught the fingertips of Arturo Vidal in the penalty area, but any appeal was quickly waved away.
There wasn't much service into him, and most of the passes he received were in wide areas by the halfway line.
However, his presence caused problems, and it was his diagonal run that gave Arda Turan the space to score the only goal of the game.
Turan Scores Important Goals
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Arda Turan is a fantastically gifted individual, and his work rate is superb.
If there was one criticism of the Turkish international heading into this season, it's that he doesn't score enough goals.
He hasn't hit double figures since he arrived in Spain, although he did reach the figure twice for Galatasaray.
However, Turan does score decisive goals. He was on target in the semi-final win over Chelsea last term and grabbed the winner in the Madrid derby recently.
This was another prime example of Turan taking responsibility for his side on the big occasion.
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