Atletico Madrid Win Proves Squad Depth Better Than Barcelona and Real Madrid
Nobody would claim that Atletico Madrid have better players than Barcelona or Real Madrid.
If you were creating a world XI, perhaps the only Rojiblancos player who would get in would be centre-back Diego Godin, and even he isn't a star name.
However, thanks to some impressive summer spending, Atletico now have a deeper squad than both Real Madrid and Barcelona with a consistent quality level.
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The Catalans have been unable to purchase players for two transfer windows thanks to their FIFA-imposed ban, which has been problematic.
It means their bench is now filled with young prospects, which is positive for them in one sense but bad for the team's chances of fighting for silverware on three fronts.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid have strength in depth in some areas but are left almost naked in other positions thanks to a dubious transfer strategy that seems more based on wants than needs.
After Barcelona took Arda Turan from Atletico this summer, Diego Simeone's side replaced him and then some.
The flaw his team had last season was that it wasn't prolific enough in front of goal.
Losing Diego Costa to Chelsea was a blow, and Mario Mandzukic, while important, wasn't enough to replace him and David Villa, who also left.
Fernando Torres joined but was still feeling his way back into La Liga life gently. So in the summer, Atletico moved for Jackson Martinez and Luciano Vietto.
The former, a star at Porto with Champions League experience; the latter, one of La Liga's rising talents.
Along with the rapidly improving Antoine Griezmann, who seems destined for stardom, a Torres who seems happier, and another extremely hot prospect, Angel Correa, Atletico now have a menagerie of attackers.
Compare that to Barcelona, who sold Pedro Rodriguez to Chelsea in the summer and now, beyond their formidable attacking trio of Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi, only have Munir El Haddadi and Sandro Ramirez to step in.
Injury to Rafinha and the FIFA ban that rules out Arda until January have further hurt Luis Enrique, but if Atletico can capitalise and win the title, those facts won't be written underneath the league table with an asterisk.
Likewise, Real Madrid only have one central striker: Karim Benzema.
Beyond him, there is Jese from the youth academy, but he seems better in wide positions and cannot hold up the play like the Frenchman.
Javier Hernandez left after his loan spell from Manchester United ended in the summer and was not replaced.
Atletico Madrid were in action on Saturday night against Eibar, winning 2-0, and it was substitutes Fernando Torres, Oliver and Angel Correa that made the difference.
Torres and Correa both found the net, and Simeone hailed his squad options after the game. He said, per Sport:
"With the introduction of Fernando Torres, Oliver and Correa, the team had a good second half. Vietto and Jackson Martinez are working well. At Atletico individuals are at the service of the team. If they hadn't done their work in the first half, it wouldn't have been as positive a second half.
We have a great squad, as you saw in Seville and Turkey [against Galatasaray]. After the changes, the players that came on did very well, like Jackson in Sevilla or today with Fernando Torres, Oliver and Correa. This speaks well of the footballers.
"
The coach knows this depth is essential for many reasons.
Firstly, it means he has a lot of different tactical possibilities in any given game.
If the pace of Griezmann isn't working, perhaps the graft of Torres or power of Jackson might be better.
Secondly, with so many quality forwards looking for game time, there will be a high level of competition in the squad. Players will have to be at their best to get onto the field.
For example, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, signed from Monaco in the summer, clearly hasn't impressed the coach enough yet to get regular football. However, he is no doubt desperately trying to do so in training and when he gets the chance as a substitute.
He came on against Barcelona last time out and impressed, and it shouldn't be too long before we see him again.
Thirdly, when we come to the crunch part of the season, when the games in the Champions League and Copa del Rey are stacking up and teams are playing three games in a week, Simeone will have the advantage.
If he shares the minutes around his squad, which it seems like he is doing at the moment, they will all be fresh and ready to fight for trophies at the business end of the season.
Players at Barcelona and Madrid may be considerably more tired because of the lack of depth in some positions those sides have.
Atletico's city rivals have the likes of Lucas Vazquez, Denis Cheryshev and Jese to add depth in forward positions.
Three impressive young talents, but they're not nearly as imposing as Atletico's range of forwards.
Compare the three benches for Round 4 of La Liga action, and Atletico come out on top in terms of talent and even experience. They had Miguel Angel Moya, Stefan Savic, Oliver, Correa, Saul, Ferreira Carrasco and Torres.
Real Madrid had Kiko Casilla, Nacho, Alvaro Arbeloa, Casemiro, Mateo Kovacic, Cheryshev and Jese.
Barcelona's game against Levante is on Sunday, but their bench will likely be Jordi Masip, Dani Alves, Marc Bartra, Adriano, Gerard Gumbau, Munir and Sandro.
The season may be decided by the big games between these three teams, and Barcelona have already beaten Atletico 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon in the first of these.
However, armed with a strong squad, Atletico and their cunning coach look a far more formidable prospect than they were last season and could fight for the title once again.
