Atletico Madrid Found Themselves Again During Vital Osasuna Victory

Well that was a lot better, wasn’t it?

If Atletico Madrid were glum after the defeat to city rival Real last week, then they managed to lift that gloom on Sunday afternoon, with the routine dismissal of relegation battlers Osasuna serving to make everything in the club’s garden rosy again.

At least that’s what they’ll want you to think.

There is, of course, a long way to go in Atleti’s season.

They are not quite firing on all cylinders, and they aren’t where they want to be in the league table, which is still led by their city rivals, who triumphed in a rainy Madrid 24 hours before Atletico won 3-0 in the decidedly friendlier climbs of northern Spain.

Pamplona proved to be exactly the trip Atletico needed, as they got back in touch with themselves during what was a welcome win.

The news that Barcelona dropped points over the weekend makes it an even better one, and in order to achieve that victory, they had to tap in to some qualities that Simeone would have been worried had deserted his side during what were a disappointing few weeks—of La Liga action, at least.

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In the Champions League, things are fine, and it was great to see a couple of veterans of those campaigns come to the fore at El Sadar.

Jan Oblak’s save from a 14th-minute penalty from the home side’s Roberto Torres might not seem too much when all is said and done at the end of the season, but it arrived at a moment that was vital to the club, the player and the manager.

Diego Simeone had been forced to make changes to his expected side as Lucas Hernandez came in at left-back and Jose Gimenez replaced Stefan Savic as the centre-back partner for Diego Godin. Those changes could have gone wrong had things started poorly in Pamplona. Luckily Oblak ensured that wasn’t the case.

And from there on, Atletico could go on and express themselves. They scored two goals in two minutes as half-time approached.

Those strikes—the first coming from the head of Diego Godin and the second coming from the summer signing Kevin Gameiro—were expertly timed, as they eradicated any sense of home defiance or hope that had built up following that encouraging start to the game.

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In fact, that Oblak penalty save could end up representing a huge moment in his side’s season.

There’s a defiance about any time that your goalkeeper denies an opposition player from the penalty spot, particularly when you’re playing away from home. A belief spreads, and it can ultimately affect the home side’s performance.

Simeone is bound to absolutely love that, and he seemed to be in a happy mood when he praised his side—and Lucas Hernandez in particular—after the game, telling Atletico’s official website:

"

It was an important game for us because of how the game rounded at the end.

Osasuna began strong the first 20 minutes. Oblak was decisive by stopping the penalty and with Godín's goal we began to feel more comfortable. In the second half, we were very orderly and our collective effort sentenced the match at the end.

He [Lucas] demonstrates once again that he is in a great shape. Whenever he enters the field, he responds in the best way. I’m not surprised because he is one of ours.

"

And to Simeone, surely being "one of ours" is the highest praise you can possibly receive.

The Argentinean coach's long-term future might be in doubt given the fact he shortened his contract earlier this season, but what absolutely can’t be questioned is his will to win and his desire to win matches such as this one.

And in Godin, whom he mentions above, he has an absolute warrior who seems ready to put everything on the line for his club if it means earning them a victory.

The Uruguayan centre-back may have looked on with more than a little concern when Gimenez conceded the penalty just 14 minutes in, but there was something very Atletico about the way Simeone’s side responded to such adversity, and even more so because it was Godin who scored the goal.

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The defender’s header brought back memories of his goal when his side secured the league title in 2013/14, and then came so close to winning the Champions League a week later.

No-one is suggesting current Atletico vintage can do the same thing—because Simeone’s side seemed broken last weekend, after all—but at least this was a start again and an attempt to move forward after what had been a dismal few weeks of league action.

The fact Gameiro’s goal came so soon after the opener from Godin was clearly a huge moment in the match. It served to both demoralise the home side and motivate the visitors.

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From thereon in it was plain sailing, with Yannick Ferreira Carrasco adding another goal to his impressive haul this season late on to make it 3-0.

And given that Barcelona could only draw at Real Sociedad later on in the day, it proved to be a good day for Atletico, whose three points might not have gained them any ground on league leaders Real Madrid, but have at least got them going again domestically following what had been a couple of weeks where the pause button seemed to have been pressed.

Oblak and Godin two players who were vital to the successes and the impressive feats which went before—were key to that, and Simeone is bound to have paid tribute to them as the team coach pulled away from Pamplona on Sunday evening.

But there are still things to fight for and trophies to win.

And Atletico—even though they have been struggling and haven’t looked like winning anything in recent weeks—are back and ready to start the fight for honours again.