Atletico Madrid Full-Backs Juanfran, Filipe Luis Are Keys to Beating Liga Rivals

With all the transfer activity going on surrounding Atletico Madrid's attacking lineup this summer, it's inevitable that the defence—familiar-looking, safe, reliable—has gone largely unspoken about.

The all-Uruguayan pairing in the centre, Diego Godin and Josema Gimenez, are as destructive and committed as it gets. Jan Oblak in goal is a phenomenon who will enjoy a breakout season as one of Europe's finest, the full-backs are experienced and established, and Filipe Luis is back after a year away and ready to show he's still one of the top players in his position.

Atletico play Sevilla and then Barcelona in their next two fixtures in La Liga, huge games for top-four and title challengers alike, and it is the full-backs for Atleti who will be key at both ends of the pitch if Diego Simeone's men are to emerge with positive results.

First Game, Full-backs Key

Las Palmas were Atleti's opening-day opponents. Newly promoted and full of adrenaline and self-belief, the islanders were hard-working and tightly grouped in their own half of the field in a 5-3-2 system, pushing the wing-backs up high whenever possible to support counter-attacks.

Atleti themselves also had their full-backs to thank for being outlets; with Koke and (particularly) Oliver Torres roaming away from the touchlines, it was Filipe Luis and Juanfran who made ground down the left and right, respectively. The Spaniard was the more prevalent in the first half and was extremely quick to exploit the gaps left by Oliver, while Filipe showed how well he has slotted back into Atleti's system after the break with a series of raids down his channel.

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It was no surprise to sell both players heavily involved in buildup play, but their pace and tempo about the play was also impressive. Both "defenders" acted as pace-setters to an extent, utilising space and quickly moving the ball infield before offering another outlet to receive possession back.

Sevilla's Wide Threat

Atleti's first away match of the season is at the Sanchez Pizjuan, where they will face Sevilla, Europa League winners last term and into the Champions League this year as a result.

Sevilla were typically busy in the transfer market themselves this summer, and the bulk of their deals centred around giving Unai Emery plenty options in midfield—five big central players to choose from and lots of added threat from the wide areas.

Last year's starters, Vitolo and Jose Reyes, started the season in the wide areas against Malaga, but neither impressed, and the suspicion must be that changes will be made for the visit of Atletico, Yevhen Konoplyanka being one who can come in.

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The left-sided player has amazing pace and good delivery once into dangerous areas, which means Atleti need a reliable man in place to stop him. Thankfully from their point of view, Juanfran is exactly that. We might not see him get forward as much as he did against Las Palmas, but if Juanfran can stop the service to the centre-forward and keep Konoplyanka—or Vitolo, for that matter—away from the penalty area, Atleti will go a long way toward keeping another clean sheet.

It's also worth noting Sevilla have problems with availability of defenders right now, so getting Filipe forward on the opposite side could see him come up against full debutant Mariano if Coke (Sevilla's right-back, not Atleti's Koke) is shifted to centre-back.

Compact Defence

After Sevilla comes an even bigger test: home to Barcelona.

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Injury-riddled they might be, but the Catalan club remain exceedingly tough to defend against on account of their ball retention, individual skill in attack and confidence in their playing style. Regardless of who plays where for Barcelona—Rafinha, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi started in attack on day one—it is almost certain that Atleti will need to narrow their defence in a deep block to keep their opponents from playing through gaps and creating chances.

With full-backs tucked in either side, stopping through passes from Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta and Co. is key to preventing Barcelona's front players from having an easy route to goal, while breaks from deeper from Rakitic in particular is also an area many clubs failed to deal with last year.

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Going forward, Atleti might not commit too many from the defensive ranks depending on how the game goes, but you can bet delivery from wide areas—the full-backs—will be an aspect of Atleti's attacking play that Diego Simeone looks at. With Gerard Pique still suspended by that point and Barcelona struggling for numbers, matching up Filipe Luis against Sergi Roberto might be an area the boss looks to exploit in providing aerial service for Jackson Martinez.

It's tough to look too far ahead in the early days of La Liga and still be certain of what we'll see, but an unchanged Atleti back line is almost a certainty, and Juanfran and Filipe will both be pivotal figures in these next two games, vital ones to give Atleti a good start to the season.

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