Diego Simeone has the perfect opportunity to clinch a third La Liga title in his 13-year-old tenure at Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid clinched the top spot in La Liga with a dramatic 2-1 win over Barcelona on Saturday night. While they might only have a one-point advantage over second-placed Real Madrid, Diego Simeone’s team have the perfect opportunity to clinch their 12th league title.
Los Rojiblancos might be one of the Spanish giants, but they have only won the league twice in the 21st century. They tend to be involved in the title race more often than not but in the end, it is Real Madrid or Barcelona who end up clinching it. However, things could end up differently this time around as both Los Blancos and the Blaugrana have been far from their best during the 2024/25 season.
Atletico Madrid’s dramatic turnaround
Diego Simeone’s team squared up against Real Madrid on September 30, a game that ended in a 1-1 statemate. While they did snatch a point from the jaws of defeat, they went on a horror run afterwards, losing three of their next five games across competitions and winning just one.
Their 1-0 loss to Real Betis on October 27 was their first league defeat of the season, and Simeone was under immense pressure. Despite all the hard yards that he had done over the last 12 years, the Argentine manager was fighting to keep his job as he was already ten points behind Barcelona who were sitting comfortably at the top of the table.
Since that defeat to Betis, the Colchoneros have completely turned things around. They have won each of their last 12 games across competitions while being one of the most in-form teams in Europe. A run of six straight wins brought them level on points heading into the game against the Catalan giants.
While the game against Hansi Flick’s team was a closely fought encounter and they did not really dominate the proceedings, Simeone’s team came from a goal behind, scored twice, and snatched the all-important three points.
The dramatic injury-time winner from Alexander Sorloth could go down as the most important strike of the season as it helped them make it seven league wins in a row and even dethrone Barcelona from the top spot. Atletico Madrid might only have a one-point lead over Real Madrid, but they do seem to be the favourites as they are the most in-form in the Spanish top flight.
Barcelona’s unexpected collapse
Barcelona were off to a flying start under new boss Hansi Flick. They had won 11 out of their first 12 league games and had a nine-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid towards the end of October.
It was all going according to plan for Barcelona as they had thrashed Los Blancos 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on October 26. While it looked like Flick had found the way to revive the sleeping giants, things have only gone downhill for them since the start of November.
The Blaugrana have only won two out of their last eight league outings. Defeats at the hands of Leganes, UD Las Palmas, Real Sociedad and most recently Atletico Madrid have seen Barcelona lose their nine-point advantage and slip down to third in the league standings.
While they are just three points behind Simeone’s team, the Catalan giants have played an extra game. Flick’s men cannot really be ruled out of the title race at this stage, but they have not really done any good for themselves over the last two months and given the kind of run they have been, it will be very difficult for them to turn things around.
Despite not having quite a few of his first team stars, Flick was getting the desired results in the initial phase of the season. While the majority of those players are back in the mix, the results are no longer going their way. The former Bayern Munich manager’s high-intensity pressing football with an extremely high line is no longer working.
He has not been able to find answers to their problems, and his tactics have been criticised. People have even questioned his use of substitutes. This collapse of the Catalan giants has certainly aided Atletico Madrid as Los Rojiblancos have now taken the lead in the title race when they were 10 points off the top just two months back.
An inconsistent Real Madrid
Los Blancos have also benefited from Barcelona’s run. They are currently just a point behind Atletico Madrid, having played the same number of games while turning one less time than the Blaugrana. While the defending La Liga champions are certainly in the race for the title, they are not at their sharpest.
Before Atletico Madrid took control of the title race, Carlo Ancelotti’s team were handed multiple opportunities to go top of the table. But, they have been unable to clinch the top spot. Apart from their poor run in the UEFA Champions League, the Merengues have not been clinical enough in La Liga.
The defeat to Athletic Club and the draw against Rayo Vallecano are two results which suggest Ancelotti’s team have been as ruthless as their known to be. Real Madrid could have easily taken control of the situation, but they still finding their feet in a new system with a new star in Kylian Mbappe.
While Real Madrid will certainly challenge Atletico Madrid for the silverware, Simeone’s team have been a touch above the others over the last two months. If they retain their form in the second half, both Barcelona and Real Madrid will find it difficult to stay in the mix.