Lacklustre Atletico Madrid Fall Foul of Ill Fortune in Athletic Bilbao Stalemate

On another day we would be talking about a classic Atletico Madrid display.

Diego Simeone's side had the ball in the back of the Athletic Bilbao net three times on Saturday at home in the Vicente Calderon, but each time the linesman raised his flag to rule them out.

Two Antoine Griezmann goals were stricken from the records as well as Tiago Mendes' strike. Only one of the decisions was a good call; Griezmann was offside for the first goal.

Athletic goalkeeper Iago Herrerin was called into action on a couple of occasions but was never truly tested in the scoreless draw.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Atletico wanted a penalty too when Xabier Etxeita pulled back Fernando Torres in the box. The striker got a shot away, but he ran screaming to the referee, getting into the official's face. Nothing was doing, and Torres got booked for his furious protests.

Simeone said before the game, per Sport, that this clash was far more important than the game against Barcelona in their penultimate La Liga fixture: "Tomorrow we have to play with a lot of intensity and to let the fans coming to the stadium know that it's an important game. I'm convinced that tomorrow's game is much more important than the one against Barcelona."

However, despite Simeone's pleas, Atletico lacked sparkle. They may now need to get a good result against the Catalans in a fortnight's time to secure third place.

When teams play like this, lacking a lot of flair, criticism is easier to come by when the results don't fall their way.

Jose Mourinho was blasted when Chelsea didn't win against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, and you can say that Simeone should have been more ambitious here.

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Furthermore, at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League on April 22, his side were eliminated by Real Madrid without putting up much of a fight in the second leg.

However, Atletico fans will not turn on Simeone—he has accomplished too much.

Winning the league last season was an amazing feat, and to come within a hair's breadth of winning the Champions League was unbelievable.

However, a gentle readjustment of the tactics or perhaps a tweak to the playing staff in the summer may be beneficial. Atletico need a bit more magic, an Eden Hazard-type, to continue the Chelsea comparison.

Last season Atletico lost several key players, from striker Diego Costa to left-back Filipe Luis. Thibaut Courtois returned from loan to Chelsea too. However, their replacements have fallen a tiny way short, as reflected by their league position and Champions League knock-out.

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Griezmann is a brilliant forward and has replaced Costa's goals, although he doesn't offer the battling presence of the Chelsea man.

Meanwhile, Torres is not a suitable replacement for David Villa despite being hailed as a returning hero, and Mario Mandzukic is too prone to form swings and effort swings.

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Guilherme Siqueira matches the attacking threat of Luis, but not the solid defensive presence.

That's not to say that they should go in the summer; everything at Atletico will take time.

Simeone has been insistent throughout the season that his team will be competing with Valencia and Sevilla for a European place, rather than for the title.

Fair enough, but on afternoons like these against stubborn opponents, Atletico need something a little bit different, a bit of flair.

That said, staunch defenders of Cholismo will argue that all they needed on Saturday was a bit of luck.