In the early morning of January 20, Beijing time, the Spanish King's Cup 1/8 final ended a game of contention, last season's La Liga champion Atletico Madrid challenged Real Sociedad away, the result of Simeone's team continued the recent bad state, conceded a goal in the first and second halves, and finally 0:2 was eliminated, missing the top eight of the Copa del Rey for four consecutive years.
At present, there are many injuries in the Atletico team, key players such as Griezmann and Marcos Llorente are all absent due to injury, and Jimenez is suspended for red cards, so Simeone is also stretched in the use of players in this game. Real Sociedad is a major player, with David Silva also starting. In the first half, Januzai's header broke the goal for the home team to go first, and shortly after the start of the second half, Atletico center-back Felipe's sticky ball was cut off at the back, and Sollot went straight into the scoring to extend the score. Atletico only completed a one-foot shot on target, a defeat that also left them without a win in three rounds of all competitions.
After losing this game, Atletico set a number of embarrassing records. First, the team suffered their tenth defeat in all competitions of the season, the first time since the 16/17 season that Atletico had lost in double-figures in a single season; the team had conceded 16 consecutive matches outside the home field; and the team's main goalkeeper Oblak had conceded as many as 36 goals this season, equalling his total of last season's goals conceded. Atletico have lost their once-proud defensive abilities this season, with 24 goals conceded at league level, compared to 25 goals conceded last season, a sign of the decline in the team's defensive ability.
Atletico won La Liga last season, but this season their record has plummeted, after the Elimination of the Copa del Rey, the team is still two fronts left in the Champions League and the league, the Champions League quarter-finals they will have to face the Red Devils Manchester United, and according to the strength and status of the team, it is completely unrealistic to achieve results in the Champions League. The league is now the only event that Atletico can fight for, but there is basically no possibility of fighting for the title, the team is as many as 16 points behind the top of the table, and the team is currently only fourth by goal difference, it is clear that Simeone's priority now is to lead the team to qualify for next season's Champions League.
Head coach Simeone has been in the team for 10 years, but this season he has encountered an unprecedented crisis, the team's record is not good, his tactics have been questioned countless times, and now Simeone's voices are constantly heard. However, Simeone can try to change the team and his own tactical philosophy, and of course, he needs to make targeted reinforcements, especially on the defensive end of the team. For Today's Atletico Madrid, they need to make changes as soon as possible, don't stand still, and make timely changes.