Atl\u00e9tico 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.<\/p>\n
Atl\u00e9tico 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 Suci\u0107 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.<\/p>\n
Atleti had led since the first minute of the match when Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez 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.<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Read More: <\/strong>Wojciech Szczesny\u2019s Surprise Barcelona Transfer Inspired by In-Form Star<\/a><\/p>\n Speaking in his post-match press conference<\/a>, the Atl\u00e9tico Madrid manager refused to attribute the goal to a lapse in focus and preferred to credit \u201cthe merit of the rival\u201d instead. He said, \u201cIt was not a lack of concentration, but a great goal\u201d.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cmake the most of the spaces\u201d. 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Read More: <\/strong>Real Madrid Suffer Devastating’ Season-Changing Injuries<\/a><\/p>\nSimeone Sticking With \u201cThe Positives of the Defence\u201d<\/h3>\n
Unbeaten But not Convincing<\/h3>\n