Atlético Madrid conceded late on to drop points away at Real Sociedad on Sunday night. But, manager Diego Simeone refused to put the draw down to a lapse in focus despite the equaliser coming from an error from one of his players.
Diego Simeone Backs His Players Despite Error in Equalising Goal
A Bookended Match
Atlético Madrid conceded a late equaliser away to Real Sociedad, dropping more points in their bid to challenge for the La Liga title. It was an error from substitute Rodrigo De Paul that led to a wonder strike by Luka Sucić to rescue a point for the home side. With a chance to set Alexander Sorloth clear, De Paul opted to swivel back towards his goal and lay a pass straight back to a blue and white shirt.
Atleti had led since the first minute of the match when Julián Álvarez finished off a backheeled pass from strike partner Antoine Griezmann. But from that moment, Los Colchoneros reverted to defending that advantage by sitting back behind the ball – subsequently creating very little.
It’s a tactic that has made Diego Simeone’s side so successful over the years but even the most assured of his defences would have struggled to maintain their focus for such a long period of time. To their credit, a second-string Atleti defence did incredibly well to withstand wave after wave of attacks for so long and it was a strike of the highest quality that eventually undid their hard work.
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Simeone Sticking With “The Positives of the Defence”
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Atlético Madrid manager refused to attribute the goal to a lapse in focus and preferred to credit “the merit of the rival” instead. He said, “It was not a lack of concentration, but a great goal”.
He did earlier admit that his team didn’t create much on the counterattack but also gave the opposition more credit for not allowing them to “make the most of the spaces”. When pressed again and again by journalists asking about his approach to the game, Simeone repeated that he was happy with how his team had defended and organised itself.
Known for being stubborn in his answers, this is nothing new for the Argentine to be so dismissive of the negatives in front of the media. He is a headstrong manager who has a clear idea of how he wants his team to play and therefore will allow a 30-yard screamer as an acceptable goal to concede. Even if it did come from a misplaced pass.
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Unbeaten But not Convincing
Alongside city rivals Real Madrid, Atleti are still to lose a game in La Liga so far this season. However, now with more draws than wins, it feels like a loss is imminent. Luckily for Los Rojiblancos, a kind run of fixtures follows the international break. Until they play FC Barcelona just before Christmas, it’s only the game away to Real Betis that looks challenging.
After nine games, Diego Simeone will be happy his team have avoided defeat considering they have played the likes of Real Madrid, Villarreal CF, Girona FC and Athletic Club. But they will need to show a lot more willingness to go out and win if they want to convince their fans and other clubs alike that they are serious about challenging for La Liga.
