Why the Wing Is the Area Atletico Madrid Should Look to Strengthen in January

If you hadn't already noticed it, we're watching a different Atletico Madrid this season. Not necessarily a better Atletico, and definitely not a worse one. Just different. 

In that sense, Saturday's 3-1 victory over Levante at the Vicente Calderon stood as the perfect example of the "new" Atletico. In contrast to their counter-attacking methods of 2013-14, they pressed high, dominated the territory battle, comfortably won the possession statistics, intelligently worked the ball out wide, pushed on the full-backs, bombarded the visitors' box and terrorised Levante in the air. 

The performance was like an elaborate fridge magnet for the capital club—you could point to it and know instantly that it was the perfect representation of the 2014-15 incarnation of this team. 

And after a favourable weekend for Atleti that saw Real Madrid and Barcelona both lose, Diego Simeone's men are now just one point off the top of the table. Additionally, over the next week they will contest the Round of 16 in the Copa del Rey, and, having finished top of Group A in the Champions League, have been drawn favourably against Bayer Leverkusen in the same stage of the continental competition. 

Like last season, Los Colchoneros are placed nicely to chase another remarkable campaign. 

Such a situation might lead one to the conclusion that Atletico don't need to look for reinforcements in the January transfer window—that the club already has the depth and quality across the board to repeat last season's heroics. 

But it's not quite that simple. Atletico, like any team, do have weaknesses. This season, the most notable one is the lack of true wingers in the squad. 

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That lack of options on the wings, of course, wasn't evident during the cruise past Levante. In fact, it hasn't been evident in many of the club's games this season. Certainly not in the comfortable wins at home over Sevilla, Malmo, Cordoba, Malaga and Olympiakos. 

Essentially, all of those outings have seen similar performances from Atletico; you could have described them in exactly the way the victory against Levante has been described above.

But those sort of outings aren't ever likely to prove troublesome for Atleti; it's the games where they aren't able to do those things they like in their new, 2014-15 style—press high, dominate territory and possession, use width, push on the full-backs, bombard the box and command the air—that will. It's the matches in which Atletico aren't in complete control where they need more depth on the wings. 

A good example was the club's Champions League clash with Juventus in Turin. The hosts dominated the ball that evening, winning 71 percent of the possession, per WhoScored.com, helping the Italian outfit to fire 12 shots on goal to Atleti's six and control the game's flow for large periods. 

Though a stalemate eventuated, it was a grind for the visitors. A night to be endured, not enjoyed. 

A pacy winger, or a pair of them, would have significantly altered the game's course. But that's not what Atletico had.

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Instead, Diego Simeone went with his go-to formation for the important clash, pairing Mario Mandzukic and Raul Garcia up front in a 4-4-2 that featured Gabi, Mario Suarez, Arda Turan and Koke in a four-man midfield. 

In short, it was classic Simeone. 

The issue, though, was that, with the skilful but one-paced Koke and Turan occupying the wider midfield positions, Los Colchoneros had no presence (both men like to drift inside) or speed down the sidelines. Of course, those qualities are so often provided by Simeone's full-backs, but Atletico were soundly beaten in the territory battle that night, meaning Juanfran and Guilherme Siqueira couldn't push on. 

That situation meant Juventus' full-backs could camp on the halfway line—and sometimes even further forward than that—knowing the visitors posed no threat of getting in behind them out wide. As such, Atleti were pushed back. And back. And back. 

On the bench, winger Alessio Cerci looked on. So did Antoine Griezmann and Cristian Rodriguez. All three went unused.

But the first of those is now gone, replaced by striker Fernando Torres. The second is being used more centrally with each and every game. And the third plays so rarely it's surprising his seat on the bench hasn't become firmly fixed to his backside. 

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What it means is that, provided Griezmann continues to be used more centrally and Rodriguez remains on the sideline, Atletico will play the entire second half of the season without using a recognised winger on a wing. 

Levante, of course, are never likely to be the sort of team to expose that deficiency. Neither are the majority of Atletico's inferior opponents in La Liga. But it's likely to prove itself as a problem against heavyweights, both in Spain and Europe. The clash with Juventus, as just outlined, could be a precursor for what Atleti might face in their meetings with the continent's elite, should they continue without a genuine threat out wide, particularly away from home. 

In modern football, pace on the wings is one of the game's most valued commodities. Despite all their wonderful qualities, it's one Atletico don't have an abundance of. 

Addressing that need in January should be a priority.