Diego Simeone Should Now Switch Emphasis to Atletico Madrid's Attack
Atletico Madrid got back to winning ways and moved into the top four of La Liga with a 2-0 victory at Real Sociedad on Sunday, scoring early and late to keep pace with leaders Barcelona, Real Madrid and Celta Vigo, all of whom won over the weekend.
Diego Simeone's team were certainly the better side and created the better quality chances, but it wasn't a game they dominated entirely—even though La Real were well out of form and barely mustered an attack of their own in the first 45 minutes.
Atleti have, understandably after a busy summer, taken a little while to get into their stride this season, but now with a change in opponent quality on the horizon, it's the perfect time for Simeone to switch the outlook of his side to being a more forceful, aggressively and relentlessly attacking outfit.
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Atletico's method of play on Sunday largely followed that of the season overall so far: A good start where they look to utilise the two wide midfielders in attacking areas, create chances and have play high up the field.
Once ahead by half-time, Atleti have then tended to sit back and defend; they did so against Sevilla, Galatasaray and after the break against Barcelona, and Sunday's fixture followed that pattern.
Confident in their ability to defend, Simeone's team allowed La Real plenty of possession and simply cleared their lines repeatedly from the uninspired attacks thrown at them by the home team.
There were two moments of fortune: One hooked ball, more cross than shot, was cleared off the line by Filipe Luis and then, in the final seconds, Josema Gimenez tried to head the ball clear on the ground, and Jonathas tumbled over him inside the area. The striker wanted a penalty, the referee ignored him and all hell broke loose—Atleti countered and scored their second, Sociedad argued endlessly, and Jonathas ended up being sent off.
The 2-0 scoreline then looked a little more comfortable than the reality of the match—and on an another occasion, they might not have got away with it.
Change in Fixtures, Change in Mentality
That natural inclination to sit back and defend a lead is, perhaps, understandable.
Not all the new signings are totally at ease just yet, and Atletico's centre of the park—Gabi and Tiago—are both comfortably the wrong side of 30, so relentless pressing and driving forward cannot be part of their game all match, every match.
Atleti's first 10 fixtures of this season have already seen them play Sevilla, Barcelona and Real Madrid, their two toughest Champions League opponents and Villarreal, who made a great start to the season and were top for two weeks. It hasn't been easy, but that run is on the verge of changing.
In Europe for starters, Atleti now face back-to-back games against Astana. While Simeone won't ignore them or take them lightly, the Kazakh side won't hold any fears for the Spanish team.
So far, Astana have lost to Benfica and shared the points at home to Galatasaray—a crazy 2-2 draw with three own goals, the last coming in the final minute.
On home soil, Valencia are still to be faced in a week before this nightmare run of fixtures comes to an end for Atletico, but after that: Deportivo La Coruna, Sporting Gijon, Real Betis, Espanyol, Granada and the Copa del Rey.
It's a run of games which could, and should, see Atleti clock up three points on a regular basis. There might be the odd slip-up of course—Depor have been in great form—but, by and large, they are teams Atletico should be going out to dominate and overpower.
Attack should therefore be Atleti's main defence during the run, relentlessly looking to make use of the likes of Koke, Oliver Torres, Antoine Griezmann, Angel Correa and other in-form offensive players rather than relying on Diego Godin and Co. to keep out middle-of-the-road La Liga sides.
Encouragement and Opportunity
The run of games coming up is big chance for Atletico Madrid to make a few people wake up and realise the potential of the team, particularly if they begin it with a win at home to Valencia.
Barcelona and Real Madrid started the season as title favourites again, but both have already dropped points in unexpected places; the former have serious squad depth issues to contend with, and the latter seem determined at times to create their own in-house problems between coach and players, despite the obvious and fantastic quality they have in both locations.
Atleti can, quietly but consistently, clock up the points while others take the headlines. It's the way Simeone likes it best—although, if they surge to the top of the table, that might change.
Meanwhile, regularly playing the mid-table type of teams will be further opportunity for Jackson Martinez and Yannick Carrasco, among others, to find form and their top level of consistency.
The Colombian striker has disappointed so far and Fernando Torres once again outshone him at the weekend, but Atleti will retain faith in their big money signing.
If Simeone does indeed make the switch in emphasis, and Atleti take the game to their upcoming opponents, Jackson will get far more chances inside and around the penalty area than he has done so far against tougher teams.
This period could also make Martinez as a Colchonero just as much as it could reinforce to Atletico that they have a great chance to push the title fight this term.
