What Is Atletico Madrid's Best XI Right Now?
Five Liga games and one Champions League fixture into the new season, Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid side is taking shape as they bid to fight for success on all fronts.
Of the 22-man squad Simeone has at his disposal this term, 20 have now taken part in at least one match, with just second-choice goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya, young defender Lucas Hernandez and midfielder Thomas Partey yet to enjoy some game time.
With more than one tactical system having been used and new faces having both started and been used as impact substitutes, we've taken a look at Atleti's upcoming games and pieced together the players utilised so far to come up with their best XI at this moment in time.
This is not a selection of the best 11 players in the squad but instead a lineup based on current form and the suitability of the players to take victories in the coming matchdays and weeks.
GK: Jan Oblak
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It's an easy choice in goal: Jan Oblak has played every minute of the season so far and has only been beaten by two players: Neymar and Lionel Messi, two of the world's finest forwards.
Oblak is strong aerially, has great reflexes and a very good reach that enables him to make improbable saves. On top of all that, he has good distribution, is quick to come off his line and narrow the angle and, most importantly of all, has shown great consistency.
He's a straightforward pick to begin with.
RB: Juanfran
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The easy choices continue to roll in throughout the back line, unsurprisingly, as the two outfield players who have played every minute this Liga season make up half the defence.
Juanfran is one of those and has been hugely consistent and impressive in the opening stages of the campaign, with his solid defensive work supplemented by an intent to support the attacking phases of play quickly.
He's a guaranteed starter the majority of the time, and he deserves his status as Spain's first-choice right-back.
CB: Jose Gimenez
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Jose Maria Gimenez has started most games this season, and his form dictates he should remain in place ahead of Stefan Savic, who made his debut in midweek.
Strong aerially and very quick to make challenges and blocks anywhere around the edge of the penalty box, Gimenez is fearless and committed, as well as having the acceleration to cover in behind his defensive team-mates when required.
He can contribute at the other end too, being a powerful header of the ball and not shy about showing his technique to create angles and passes when set pieces don't immediately pay off.
CB: Diego Godin
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One of La Liga's, and indeed the world's, finest centre-backs over the past few years.
Diego Godin is an uncompromising performer who knows his role to perfection, keeps the Atletico defence in shape with his organisation and communication and is a great last line of protection to Jan Oblak.
Having already shown his form as being near its top level this term, Godin's greatest asset is maybe being utterly indefatigable, making challenges and winning headers in the first minute and the last and from the first gameweek right the way through the campaign.
LB: Filipe Luis
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Left-back is another straightforward pick, although that's because Filipe Luis has slotted back into life at the Vicente Calderon as if he'd never been away. Guilherme Siqueira, his rival for the position, is a more than competent player—but Filipe Luis has another level.
The Brazilian is strong in the challenge and supports play extremely well going forward, being a great outlet for the side with his close control, composure in passing and willingness to play triangles, create space and eventually get into the area to provide a low pass or cross.
Fitness is really the only concern here.
RM: Oliver Torres
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Saul Niguez and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco are the big positional rivals to consider, but Oliver Torres' impact on the Atletico Madrid team so far this season has been clear to all.
Whether staying largely in his right-hand channel or having the freedom to drift all over the park against certain, perhaps weaker, opponents, Oliver is superb at finding space for himself, receiving possession and then turning quickly to make something happen in attack. He has great footwork, plays quick and clever give-and-goes with those ahead and is always looking to slide a pass into the penalty area.
A young player still learning the tactical side of his role, he's frequently either subbed around the hour mark or brought on then—but either way, he makes things happen.
CM: Gabi
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Gabi has started the campaign in great form, looking strong defensively and ready to have a big season, while also trying to help win the ball higher upfield to instigate attacks from dangerous positions and support from a little deeper when he can.
He netted a goal early on in the campaign, though it won't exactly be his primary function—he's there to protect the defence, win back play for Atleti and cover the wide areas of midfield when Oliver et al. drift infield and get caught out when possession is lost.
In both a two- and a three-man midfield, Gabi has been very good so far—with just a costly mistake against Barcelona counting in his negative column.
CM: Tiago
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Tiago is getting better with age, and his importance to the Atletico team cannot be understated.
After the win over Eibar, Diego Simeone called him the "brains" of the team, per Marca, and it's not hard to see why. It's not just in a creative sense in possession that Tiago knows what to produce but in a tactical one off the ball too. Positionally, he's intelligent, he can up the tempo of the game quickly with searching passes from deep and he is more than happy to break forward and try to construct chances in the final third too.
Tiago and Gabi is our central-midfield pairing as well as Simeone's.
LM: Antoine Griezmann
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Yup: No Koke. Quite aside from being sidelined with injury, the young Spanish star simply hasn't clicked into gear yet this season—it has been four matches with steady, yet not hugely influential, performances from him, mainly from the side of midfield. He has been subbed twice.
Instead, we're opting for Antoine Griezmann down the left, where he has started on more than one occasion already this term, as well as operating as the main striker for the team.
Griezmann is absolutely key for Atleti because of two sides to his game: his tactical versatility where he understands when to drop into spaces and when he must track back, stretch play and when to play short and also his technical and physical traits, including his finishing, acceleration and movement inside the penalty area.
Already Atleti's top scorer with five goals in all competitions, Griezmann is naturally at his best now as one of the two forwards, but there's another reason we have selected him in his old Real Sociedad position, if not that exact role.
CF: Angel Correa
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And that reason is Angel Correa. The young Argentinian forward isn't a guaranteed starter by any stretch of the imagination—he has made three sub appearances for Atleti so far this season, but each time he has had a positive impact and helped change the flow of the game.
We're putting him as one of the two centre-forwards, but with Correa and Griezmann in the XI, Simeone would also have the option of switching to 4-3-3, as has been the case several times in the opening weeks.
Luciano Vietto, Correa's main rival for this spot, hasn't had a great start to the campaign and still needs more time to blend his game with his new team-mates'; Correa, by contrast, has already shown superb link play with several of the final-third players, has had an impact in individual play and has already found the back of the net and claimed an assist.
CF: Fernando Torres
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The No. 9 role, the most advanced of the two strikers, is a straight fight between Jackson Martinez and Fernando Torres: the big-money signing and the club hero.
On the early evidence, it's the latter who deserves to be starting just now, with Torres having a huge impact on the team by running in behind defences, showing a willingness to work hard and a rediscovered capacity to find the back of the net.
Torres has two goals in the league so far and is looking the better foil for those joining up with the attack from the deeper lines. It might not last, and the expectation has to be that Martinez fires on all cylinders sooner or later, but right now, Torres is the right choice to lead the strikers.
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