Breaking Down How Diego Simeone Should Set Up Atletico Madrid to Beat Barcelona
The big game in La Liga this weekend takes place on Saturday at the Camp Nou, where Spain's top two will face off for top spot when Barcelona host Atletico Madrid.
The Catalan club are in top spot ahead of the match, having leapfrogged Atleti on Saturday with a win over Malaga, while Los Colchoneros drew at home to Sevilla on Sunday. In the past couple of seasons, this fixture has presented a titanic tussle and a clash of styles that has led to silverware for one side or the other, and first place in La Liga remains up for grabs.
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At home and as reigning champions, Barcelona will be favourites, but Diego Simeone will believe he can come up with a plan to defeat Luis Enrique's men.
Off-the-Ball Intensity
Most teams can expect Barcelona to enjoy more of the ball, and Atletico Madrid will be no different; even with Atleti's improved ball retention and capacity to dominate spells of matches this season, they will be more than happy to cede a majority of time on the ball to Barcelona and pick their moments to press and attack.
The key to Los Rojiblancos in this approach is to find the right times and the right areas of the pitch in which to make their move—and that should be high upfield, starting at around Barcelona's deepest midfield line and even further upfield to their defence. The perfect game for Atleti to look at this season is their own performance against Valencia.
Back in October, Simeone's men put in one of their best displays of the campaign, ferociously attacking Los Che in their own half of the pitch, winning possession back early and asking the midfield quartet to relentlessly close down Valencia's deep playmakers and centre-backs. Mistake after mistake was forced, chances were created as a result and Atleti were two goals to the good at the halfway mark—and in truth, it could have been far more.
The match ended 2-1, but Atletico were far and away the more accomplished side.
That's the sort of intensity and aggression they need to find again at the Camp Nou, driving Barcelona backward and, they will hope, forcing them into the same sorts of mistakes on the ball they made against Malaga last time out in the league.
Malaga couldn't make Barcelona pay for those errors, but Atleti just might.
Shape and Personnel
Off-the-ball pressure is one thing, but the shape needs to be able to accommodate that rapid press. The 4-4-2 system favoured by Simeone over the years provides the best overall balance and distribution of players to allow the midfield to press in tandem and for the strikers to close out the gaps between defence and midfield.
Much of the Atletico team seems to pick itself; Stefan Savic has performed well when called upon, but Jose Gimenez should take the centre-back spot to partner Diego Godin in a first-choice back four. Jan Oblak should return in goal after missing Wednesday's 3-2 Copa del Rey defeat to Celta Vigo—he hasn't conceded in five Liga games and has let in only two in the last 990 minutes of league action.
Gabi, Koke and Saul Niguez are all must-starts in midfield, with Antoine Griezmann in attack. That leaves two spots for the likes of Augusto Fernandez, Jackson Martinez, Luciano Vietto and Yannick Carrasco to fight over—and the latter two should win out.
Carrasco has returned to form of late, mostly off the bench as impact sub, while Vietto is the better link player and has great work rate off the ball. Atleti need pace to play on the counter just as much as to press in the attacking half, and on this occasion, the strengths they offer are a better fit for Atleti than the additional security Augusto presents.
Trust in Strengths
However they set up, it's important Atletico learn from earlier in the season. They took the lead against Barcelona in September, then sat back and defended very early on. It ultimately cost them, and they lost 2-1.
That said, Atleti play a certain way, and that shouldn't be abandoned.
Scoring first is absolutely crucial, and Simeone's men can have full confidence they will be able to hold out this time, even against the world's best attack. Because it can be argued Atleti themselves have the world's best defence.
The organisation and understanding in the back line is as important as the reliability in the technical traits Godin, Oblak and co. exhibit, while the tactical flexibility offered by the quartet of Griezmann, Saul, Koke and Carrasco in particular will let Simeone switch systems to 4-5-1 at will and play on the counter, with pace and direct runners.
Tactical systems aside, luck, determination and unfailing concentration must also be on Atletico's side to pick up a win in the Camp Nou.
One game alone won't absolutely determine where the title is going this season, but the triumphant team will certainly believe it's theirs to lose from that point onward, and mental resilience plays a huge part as the final stretch of the season gets closer.
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