Just ahead of their game this week against Athletic Club, we look at last season’s La Liga winners who have had a sluggish start to their trophy defense. From the galore of Champions League Final to Winning the League title, Atletico and Simeone did what was unbelievable a couple of seasons back with the two big horses (Real and Barca) dominating.
After 15 round of matches, Diego Simeone’s side sit third on the table. Cross town rivals Real who lead the table with 7 points lead over Atletico Madrid. When compared to last year this time, Atletico sat joint top with Barcelona. Having 40 points to their name compared to this season’s 32.
With the core of the side changed with the outgoing Filipe Luis, Diego Costa and Thibaut Cortious the side had to buy like for like replacements. They managed to have a great transfer window as they brought in some great names, with the incoming Mandzukic, Grezimann and Ansaldi.
The last three games for Atletico haven’t been good, as it has seen them being beaten once and drawn twice. As it all goes, Atletico managed to top their group with Juventus coming second. Which meant more burden for the side who were the runners ups in the competition last year.
A lose against Villarreal, meant they were again losing pace against the likes of run away opponents Real Madrid and Barcelona on the league table. With manager Simeone playing down title ambitions, this could mean that he is just not confident about his sides chance this season.
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