Well classified in the League, fourth and six points behind the leader, Girona, but with one less game (the Metropolitano's postponed one against Sevilla), and well positioned in the Champions League as group leader in a competition where last season it was out at the first opportunity, Atlético seems to have returned to its strength after a mediocre year. With Simeone renewed this November 9 until June 2027, Atlético seems once again rearmed and with a squad capable of aspiring to anything. If Girona is without a doubt the revelation of the league, the colchoneros are the hidden one.
This year's Atlético has good statistics, but makes little noise. Not much is said about him, always in the shadow of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The colchoneros resume the league this Saturday in their stadium against Mallorca in what seems like an affordable event to then face a very important next week. On Tuesday the 28th they play in De Kuip against Feyenoord in search of sealing their place in the round of 16 of the Champions League and on Sunday they face Barcelona in Montjuïc, a match in which they will measure their true strength against a rival that almost always He has had a bad time at home. It will be the reunion between Simeone and João Félix.
So far the greatest joy for the red and whites this season came in the Madrid derby on September 24 at the Metropolitano, when against the odds they defeated with authority (3-1) a Madrid that was undefeated.
One fact works in favor of Atlético. If the infirmary of Barcelona and Real Madrid has been overflowing with important players this season, Simeone's men have also had losses, but not of the caliber of their rivals. Atlético currently has three injured players, but one comes from the previous season and is in the final stretch of his recovery, Reinildo, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He is expected to return this year.
The two injured this season are Thomas Lemar, who broke his Achilles tendon at Mestalla and if he returns it will be in the spring. The other is former Barcelona player Memphis Depay, who reappeared in the derby against Real Madrid after suffering a muscle injury to his right thigh, but was injured again on September 26 with discomfort in the soleus. The Dutchman could enter the squad this weekend although his career marked by injuries has made him a residual player for Simeone.
The main characteristic of this Atlético is its offensive strength, something unusual in a team that with Simeone on the bench has always distinguished itself by being very solid at the back. But this Atlético has Morata and Griezmann in a state of grace. Atlético has scored 41 goals in 16 games (29 in twelve games in the 12th league and twelve in four in the Champions League), of which 24 between its two forwards: twelve each. Only Girona has scored more in the League.
This is Atlético's highest scoring team of the Simeone era (in charge since December 23, 2011) and the Morata-Griezmann duo is the only one of the five major European leagues with more than ten goals each player in all competitions.
For Atlético, this is a more balanced squad than the one that won its last League, in the 2020-21 campaign, although then it had an attacking duo made up of Luis Suárez and João Félix and did not have Morata or Griezmann. From the midfield to the back the base is quite similar with players like Oblak, Giménez, Mario Hermoso, Savic, Koke, Marcos Llorente, Lemar or Saúl. The enthusiasm among the colchoneros is high.
