How Atletico Madrid won the La Liga title this season
Some five thousand fans gathered in the car park outside Jose Zorilla Stadium, while Diego Simeon and his boys were involved in a clash that had required all points to win the La Liga title since that eventful 2013-14 season. The opposition was Ronaldo Nazario's Real Valladolid and any outcome was possible in such a topsy-turvy season.
Two matches - Real Madrid vs Villarreal and Atlético Madrid vs Real Veladolid began at the same time and players and fans who followed a particular match always kept themselves updated for the second competition.YOUR 2020/21 LALIGA CHAMPIONS!!! 🔴⚪#CampeonesPartidoAPartido pic.twitter.com/MLFWK8X7am
— LALIGA CHAMPIONS 🔴⚪️🏆 (@atletienglish) May 22, 2021
When Valladolid and Villarreal had an edge over Jose Zorilla and Alfredo Di Stefano respectively, tensions rose and offered an exciting competition.
In the 57th minute, a goal from Karim Benzema on Alfredo Di Stefano was dismissed offside, while Jose Zorilla Angel de Correia equalized for Atleti. Disappointment increased at one place while confidence increased at the other - in ten minutes the charismatic Luis Suarez gave Atleti an edge, while Real Madrid were still trailing 0–1.
In the final moments of the game, Benzema equalized and in injury time, Luca Modric gave Los Blancos the lead, but Valladolid was needed to defeat Atleti, which they could not and thus, the La Liga of this season The new champions of Atlético are Madrid.
Kudos to Real Madrid for the way they worked hard to the end despite 62 injuries this season, but even then, Atleti deserved more titles than any other teams in La Liga this season.Atletico Madrid fans are taking to the streets and celebrating 🥳 pic.twitter.com/w3YylmoA5h
— Goal (@goal) May 22, 2021
Since winning the La Liga title in 2014, Diego Simeon's side have come close to achieving glory several times, but in the end, it never really happened as Real Madrid and Barcelona had plenty of good moments.
Suarez effect
Simeon began the season with a different intent and Luis Suarez's arrival prompted him to think differently about his plans.
He needed to create a system that best suited Suarez.
They changed their formation from 7-4-2 to 3-7-3 or 3-5-2, which would have better coverage of the field and the Raiders would have more players close to Suarez in the half while remaining safe at the time of transition.
Luis Suarez scores the goal that could seal title glory for Atletico Madrid 🔴⚪🏆
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) May 22, 2021
Who else could it possibly have been? A potential LaLiga decider 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/qeLWGi49Vd
This allows Atletico to play more possession and more passes in the opponent's half than before.
The change had a positive impact on his possession which increased to 50% compared to 47% last season, while the average pass per possession increased from 3.87 to 5.15. Meanwhile, the average pass increased from 53.13 to 62.1 in the final third.
This all happened due to the Suarez effect.
With so many players around him, Suarez can play in his preferred style where he finds spaces and is either dropped between the lines to help keep his team occupied or to eliminate opportunities Attacks small places in the box. He is a player who needs only a little time and space to finish the chance.
Look what it means to Luis Suarez 😢❤️
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 22, 2021
(via @LaLigaEN)pic.twitter.com/KgAI0B9GmL
Despite changing their style to a more rights-oriented style in the opponent's half, they can still use a direct approach when necessary to highlight space in the opponent's backline. They will often start a short build to draw pressure before sending a straight pass to exploit the gaps in the opponent's final line of defense.
It has worked till the end.
Solid defensive performance
Defensive fortitude and sometimes a very bloody mind have always been the hallmarks of Atletico under Simeon.
The plan for a three-man defense gave Simeon a better chance of dealing with defensive transitions and enabled him to have higher wing-backs and to be more secure in the back, as well as a better job of controlling possession in the attacking half.
❝𝑊𝐸 𝐷𝐼𝐷 𝐼𝑇 𝐴𝐺𝐴𝐼𝑁!❞
— LALIGA CHAMPIONS 🔴⚪️🏆 (@atletienglish) May 22, 2021
🏆 1️⃣9️⃣4️⃣0️⃣
🏆 1️⃣9️⃣4️⃣1️⃣
🏆 1️⃣9️⃣5️⃣0️⃣
🏆 1️⃣9️⃣5️⃣1️⃣
🏆 1️⃣9️⃣6️⃣6️⃣
🏆 1️⃣9️⃣7️⃣0️⃣
🏆 1️⃣9️⃣7️⃣3️⃣
🏆 1️⃣9️⃣7️⃣7️⃣
🏆 1️⃣9️⃣9️⃣6️⃣
🏆 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣4️⃣
🏆 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣1️⃣
❤️🤍 #CampeonesPartidoAPartido pic.twitter.com/kuwodKceU7
In addition, with their quick offensive pressure on the ball when they lose it and the rate of work that has characterized Atletico all these years, with players running back fast, they are able to deal effectively with defensive transition moments. Will be able to
But with the three-man backline, they needed more coverage during the counters than before and meaning that they were less than 5-4-1 or 5-3-2 in their own half of the defensive organization Can sit defensively which gives them more protection, especially when they are defending a lead.
During zonal and man-marking, where multiple teams favor each other, which can often expose them against certain opponents, the combination of the two with Atletico is the key to their defensive tenacity.
H A P P I N E S S ❤️🤍#CampeonesPartidoAPartido pic.twitter.com/5n2arS4H21
— LALIGA CHAMPIONS 🔴⚪️🏆 (@atletienglish) May 22, 2021
He did a great job covering the right areas, but at the same time, the players were man-oriented in those areas, allowing them to immediately pressurize a player on the ball and take multiple passing options for their opponent Used to take decisions. Leads to a hard and ultimately possession loss for the player on the ball.
Another strong aspect of Simeon's defensive game as a team is knowing when to press high and when to sit deep.
This press rate has come down this year as Suarez is not being given much responsibility for the press; Instead, he usually shields the defensive midfielder and only pressurizes him in certain situations.
Never say no
Atleti was far ahead of the others in La Liga at one time, yet, in the middle of the season, he suffered a loss and looked like he would choke again, but when it mattered, he never lost points. Teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona lost either. Or points were dropped against opponents who had to be beaten. Gaining those points worked in Simeon's favor, and when the chips were down the entire team rallied together and kept fighting.
The winning mentality and never-ending attitude always existed and during the crucial stages of the league, they handled the pressure better.