25/04 - 20:00
Yannick Carrasco’s opener deep into first-half stoppage time last weekend was enough, Diego Simeone had finally registered his first win in LaLiga against Barcelona after 18 attempts, a fact that requires a double-take when you think back to Diego Godin’s Nou Camp title clincher in 2014.
On that day, it was an equaliser, coming in the second half to wipe out Alexis Sanchez’ opener for Barca and declaring Atletico Madrid league title winners for the first time since 1996, the culmination of Diego Simeone’s revolutionary work at the club.
Fast forward six years and it’s not exactly gone swimmingly for the Argentine coach. Two Champions League finals lost to bitterest of rivals, Real Madrid, in the most heartbreaking of fashions, whilst his tactics have grown old on many, wasting an influx of attacking talent in favour of his defensive principles.
With just two goals conceded in eight games so far and only behind Real Sociedad in the table, things are looking pretty bright, and for the first time in a few years it’s not just down to the sublime defensive unit headed by Jan Oblak in goal.
One of the keys for Simeone in 2014 was the signing of an aging world-class striker who Barcelona deemed surplus to requirements who went on to have a career season in the Spanish capital in David Villa, this time round, it’s Luis Suarez.
With five goals to start the campaign, any doubts about Suarez slowing down and some serious past knee troubles are quickly evaporating, and being in a team that favours a slow build-up, not exposing his decreasing pace, is only making things better.
And saying that in a league that contains Lionel Messi seems borderline ridiculous, but Barcelona are now playing like you’d expect a post-Messi team to, except the problem is; he’s still there.
With just 11 points from eight games, Barcelona’s crisis is only deepening, Ronald Koeman was always a sacrificial lamb until a new president is put in place and Xavi Hernandez returns as coach, but some still expected Barca to compete, but with an injury crisis and uninterested Messi, those hopes are all but gone.
Meanwhile, at Real, things aren’t much better. An organisation that trademarked the term ‘Galácticos’ this might be the furthest their squad has ever been from meriting that title.
There’s plenty of candidates to muddy the water, such as the aforementioned Sociedad and the very impressive Villarreal and Sevilla, but LaLiga is, as it always has been, between three teams, and for the first time in decades, Atletico are favourites.
