Atletico have conceded 34 goals after 24 league rounds this season, and only 6 teams in La Liga have defended worse than Atletico. Even more worrying is that Atletico have conceded 34 goals in 24 La Liga games this season, especially in the last six games with 14 goals and four games, and Simeone's Atletico are losing control.
Losing 1-0 at home to the league-ranked first-to-last Levante, he has faced the vice-captain twice this season with a draw and a loss. It should be noted that opponents have only scored 14 points in 24 La Liga games this season, of which nearly 30% come from atletico's contributions.
To make matters worse, Atletico conceded 34 goals after 24 league rounds this season, with only 6 teams in La Liga defending worse than Atletico. Simeone is currently in trouble and can't really blame Suarez for dropping goals.
Reduced to 7th to last defensive in La Liga: Simeone's Atletico shakes the ground
After the home defeat to Levante, Atletico, who are fifth in the league, are four points behind Betis. Given the much better situation for Barcelona since Xavi took charge, it has become increasingly difficult for Atletico to secure tickets to next season's Champions League.
Even more worrying is that Atletico have conceded 34 goals in 24 La Liga games this season, especially in the last six games with 14 goals and four games, and Simeone's Atletico are losing control.
In the previous 2-4 defeat to Barca, Atletico led 10-9 with a single shot on goal, and the expected number of goals was 1.2 to 0.9, but the problem was that Barca scored all four shots.
Like Barca's second goal, when Traore flanked the ball, there was only one Atletico defender. The key issue is the location at the back of the penalty area, where atletico have only one defender from start to finish when Barca's three attackers move closer to an area.
1-on-1 at the near end and 3-on-1 at the back point, that's the defensive position Atletico showed in this conceded goal. So when the little Man Garvey's header breaks the scoring, do you get surprised? The distribution of Atletico's personnel determines one of the outcomes of this.
Facing vice-captain Levante in the early hours of this morning, this time Atletico centre-back Gimenez's ironic header was wrong, directly giving the opponent the opportunity to single-handedly. Fortunately, Oblak was able to save De Fritos' chance to score.
The problem is that Atletico's defensive flaws are not only in the defenders, but even the goalkeeper Oblak, who has always been very reliable, has now become a "colander". Statistics show that Oblak's last 5 La Liga seasons have blocked goals (estimated goals conceded - actual number of goals conceded), the goalkeeper who has conceded more than 10 goals in the previous 4 seasons, and this season's statistics are 8.65 more goals (inside and outside equivalent to Atletico 20 more goals conceded).
Take the loss of the game to Levante in the early morning as an example, first of all, the Atletico midfielder exposed a huge space in the position battle, was broken by a simple straight ball from the opponent's side, and then Melero's shot actually penetrated the near corner of Oblak's defense.
As a goalkeeper who was so easily penetrated in defending the near corner, Oblak really needed to think hard about what he had been through this season and had taken such a big step back.
According to statistics from another agency, after playing Barcelona, Oblak, who played 2166 minutes in La Liga, was expected to concede only 15.2 goals (only counting shots that were certified within the frame of the goal), and the actual number of non-penalty conceded goals (excluding penalties) was as high as 24.
Simply put, Oblak has become another big problem in the Atletico defence besides the defenders.
Simeone's pale offensive tactics: should this pot Suarez be backed?
Last season, Atletico conceded 25 goals in 38 La Liga rounds, while scoring 67 goals to tie Real Madrid, which is an important reason for the team to win the La Liga title. At that time, the arrival of Suarez gave the team a lot of help, especially in the final sprint stage of the league, Atletico Madrid fell behind in many unfavorable situations, and it was Suarez's goal that helped the team reverse the victory.
After Suarez's form slipped this season, Atletico's attack didn't have some surprise goals, and it quickly exposed its inherent problems. In this round of matches against Levante, Suarez sat on the bench and the team had only 3 shots on goal in the first half, with an estimated goal of 0.1 (Levante also had 3 shots on goal, with an estimated goal of 0.5).
Cunha's athleticism is far better than Suarez's now, and he can even return to the backcourt and give some help to the defensive line. However, Cunha's shooting efficiency was disappointing, atletico simply crossed into the box, and this time Cunha's stop was directly turned into a clearance.
In this case, Atletico need more back rows to follow up to help Cunha launch an attack. Unfortunately, this time Lemar's shot was sent away, making Suarez on the sidelines cry and laugh.
If correa's shot after a teammate's foul (ruled invalid), atletico's closest chance of equalizing in the second half was goalkeeper Obrak's header in a free-kick attack. Atletico's attack has now become a big problem, should Suarez be responsible for it?
The problem is that when Uruguay's world qualifiers reach a life-and-death juncture, it will be difficult for Simeone to concentrate on Atletico. Before his league passing success against Barca, Suarez suffered a two-month goal drought in eight consecutive league games.
However, it should be noted that in these 2 months, Suarez has only shot 12 times in 8 games, and only 1.2 goals are expected. So Suarez, who doesn't score goals, really should he be back on the pot? Simeone's pale offensive tactics may be the root of the problem.
As can be seen from this groundbreaking goal against Barca, Suarez's sense of smell and reaction in front of goal is still trustworthy. The problem is that Atletico have created too few scoring opportunities, and Suarez has struggled to even get a chance to shoot lately, and goals are naturally impossible to talk about.
In the World Preliminary Round, Suarez scored two consecutive goals at the end of January and the beginning of February, helping Uruguay return to the top four in south America. It can be seen that Suarez is not completely incapacitated in scoring, but he has passed his 35th birthday and does need more tactical support from the team.
Will Griezmann's recovery from injury help? The Champions League with Manchester United is getting closer and closer
Atletico still has a thought about whether Griezmann can bring some changes to the team after his return from injury. Before and after an injury in the Copa del Rey match against a lower-level side, Griezmann missed a total of Atletico's last 10 matches.
The record of these 10 atletico is 3 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses, of which 2 wins come from the 89th minute after the 89th minute (and Valen scored 2 goals in a row after 90 minutes to reverse the kill).
Griezmann's value is that he has the effect of driving the overall rhythm after picking up the ball in the middle (through a quick receiving pass and subsequent no-ball movement). Just like this goal, Griezmann picked up the ball in the middle of the road, and then Correa passed to Suarez, who scored one of the best goals of the season by passing through Wallen centre-back Diacabhi.
Griezmann's biggest problem now is that his own explosive power is declining year by year. Especially when grabbing a point in front of the door, how to stabilize the center of gravity has become somewhat difficult. So now Griezmann's "eating cake" in front of the goal in high-speed sports has become a little unstable, and he often flies some good opportunities.
The Champions League knockout round with Manchester United is getting closer and closer, and Atletico need not only to get out of the quagmire of La Liga as soon as possible, but also to go further in the Champions League arena of "Golden Two". This will bring a lot of money to the team and is the key to atletico's future.
In the current process of team building, Atletico have made many mistakes. After selling Trippier to Newcastle at a low price, became the latter's thigh. The team chose to buy Gas, and as a result, he injured a ligament in his La Liga debut and will be absent for a long time.
Previously, in order to solve the team's advancement and offensive problems, Simeone built a 532 small-ball lineup, allowing Griezmann and Felix to break through. Griezmann's outstanding performances and key goals are also the reason why the team can advance from the Champions League death group to the knockout stages.
The key to this lineup is that 2 strikers, 2 centre-backs and 2 wingers all have strong propulsion and starting capabilities. The problem is that carrasco is now suspended in the first leg against Manchester United, Trippier on the right has been sold, and Simeone can't even use this successful style of play.
On the other hand, this 532 formation can only serve the Champions League, pursuing a rapid offensive and defensive conversion, and lacking the ability to attack in the league. Atletico want to get out of the quagmire, maybe it's really not what Simeone can do now.
epilogue:
Last season, because of the changes brought by Suarez, Atletico was somewhat lucky to win the La Liga title, and also made Simeone, who had originally gone downhill, a solid position. Now when Suarez stops scoring goals, how should Atletico keep moving forward? Is it better to find a coach who knows more about offense than Simeone, or buy a striker who can score better than Suarez? Of course, the premise of choosing the latter is that Simeone can find his solid defense.