Atletico Madrid Display vs. Espanyol Underlines Importance of Mario Mandzukic

Atletico Madrid failed to score for the fifth time in their last six away matches in a 0-0 draw away to Espanyol on Saturday that underlined the importance of Mario Mandzukic to Diego Simeone’s side.

There have been reports of problems between Simeone and the Croatian striker in recent weeks. Per Luiz Aznar of Marca, Mandzukic blew hot and cold in training after being demoted to the bench for the 0-0 draw away to Sevilla at the start of the month. He was then left out the starting XI once more for the 1-1 draw with Valencia last weekend.

It was suspension that prevented the 28-year-old from taking part on Saturday. In his absence, Atletico lacked a reliable reference point around which to build their attacks.

It was Fernando Torres who joined Antoine Griezmann up front at El Prat. The former Chelsea man made a lightning quick start to his second spell at Atletico, scoring twice against Real Madrid and once more against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey in January.

He has, though, been much less effective in La Liga.

He again struggled to make much of an impression during the opening 45 minutes on Saturday. There was one neat turn and pass to Griezmann, leading to a shot wide from the edge of the area, but he otherwise failed to offer much of particular note.

While Griezmann’s pace was a regular threat, Torres’ inability to reliably hold up the ball and bring others into play limited Atletico’s ability to get at their out-of-form—with five defeats and just two wins in their last eight matches in all competitions—hosts.

Espanyol’s Felipe Caicedo proved, as illustrated by FourFourTwo StatsZone, to be a far better reference point, showing good strength to shield the ball and lay it off to supporting team-mates. He also won a couple of free-kicks inside the attacking half.

In the circumstances, it was little surprise that it was Torres who was sacrificed to facilitate the introduction of a replacement centre-back following Miranda’s dismissal for a clear elbow on Abraham—which resulted in the Espanyol midfielder being taken to hospital for tests, as per AS—in first-half stoppage time.

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Simeone’s side gave a good account of themselves after the break. They were unfortunate to have a well-taken strike from Griezmann ruled out early in the half due to an alleged foul by Diego Godin, and they looked the more likely team to take the three points thereafter.

Espanyol goalkeeper Kiko Casilla came up big to make an excellent save from Raul Garcia in Atletico’s best chance of the match.

"Taking a point from here isn't bad," full-back Jesus Gamez said afterwards, as per AS. "We've got to keep working and continue looking forward, that's all we can do."

But it was, in the end, another two points dropped—points that mean they now trail Valencia in the race for third place.

And the first half performance will have left Simeone with plenty to ponder ahead of the second leg of Atletico’s Champions League round-of-16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. Roger Schmidt’s side press with unrelenting intensity, and Atletico will struggle to get a foothold in the match without a strong and reliable reference point up front.

Mandzukic is not only the club’s top scorer in league and Champions League play—with 17 goals across the two competitions, as per WhoScored.com—but also their best traditional No. 9.

Prior to Saturday’s match, he had set up more chances per match (0.8) than either Griezmann (0.7) or Torres (0.3) and had also won far more aerial duels (2.9, compared to 1.7 for Torres and 1.5 for Griezmann). His strength and determination make him an ideal focal point for his side’s attacks.

Indeed, before things seemingly began to turn sour, he and Griezmann were in excellent form. Six goals and one assist from Griezmann and four goals and four assists from Mandzukic saw Atletico win four of five Primera Division matches between late-January and mid-to-late February.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

However, Pep Guardiola’s issues with the striker at Bayern Munich in the final months of last season were well documented in Marti Perarnau’s excellent book Pep Confidential, and Simeone now seems to be suffering from similar problems.

The Argentinian coach is reported, as per L’Equipe (h/t Marca), to have requested Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani for next season. Per SportMediaset (h/t Inside Spanish Football), Juventus have in turn been linked with a move for Mandzukic.

But for the good of Atletico’s season and to provide his side with the best possible chance of overturning their 1-0 deficit to Leverkusen in Tuesday’s Champions League return leg, Simeone needs to find common ground with the Croatian striker.

Saturday’s match again showed that without Mandzukic, Atletico are a less consistent attacking threat. With him, they might just be able to turn things around at the Vicente Calderon.