The two players who scored in the victory over Elche were Matheus Cunha and Rodrigo De Paul. There is a time limit. Luis Suarez didn't wait and didn't look back. At the end of the game at Elche, he headed straight down the tunnel, still angry that the goal he scored was ruled out. At the close of a difficult season, he felt vindicated, a reminder that he was still here. His last goal was against Alaves seven matches ago, and he had started just one of the past five games. He has been on the bench in recent weeks. He has scored less this year than he did last year, when he led the team to the LaLiga title. He is their top scorer. Angel Correa has 11 league goals, but 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 In the summer, Matheus Cunha had six. Even though Joao Felix is the most expensive player in club history, Diego Simeone says he will keep on even if Joao keeps getting angry with him in the hope that one day he will put it together. He has eight. Marcos Llorente, who scored 12 league goals last season in double figures for both goals and assists, does not have any. After walking out to join Barcelona a year later than he had originally thought,Antoine Griezmann hasn't scored since January. He scored 25 in his last spell at Atletico. He now has eight. He scored three league goals all season in LaLiga, but didn't get any. - Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla: Sunday, 12:20 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+
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The summer's other big signing scored on Wednesday. He got nine, seven and nine in his last three seasons in Italy, but if he isn't there for that, he hasn't found a natural place yet.
It is hard to believe that they have scored more goals than last year. It is a kind of stat that had you checking the numbers because it doesn't seem to make sense and it doesn't tally with the eye test. They have also conceded more. A lot more. They have allowed more goals against this season. It is their worst figure in a decade.
A week ago, everyone was talking about a guard of honour for Real Madrid, the recently crowned league champion. The debate became tiresome and affected, as these things tend to do, and in the end, at the end of the day, Atletico did not stand there and applaud Real Madrid onto the pitch, announcing in advance they were not going to participate in what they said had become a pantomime.
They just played. They beat Real Madrid, too, although the smiles and the jokes and the starting XI -- no Thibaut Courtois, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric or Vinicius Junior -- underscored that, for their neighbours at least.
It wasn't important for the reason it might have done. Maybe should have done it.
It was the first derby they had won in eight tries, and the first ever at the Metropolitano, and their last win was at the Vicente Calderon. A run is broken. This could have been a title decider. There are four games to go. The league title race lost five weeks before the end because of the fact that you are in a position where you might be expected to.
They could not defend their league title. It is hard to remember a title defence that is so poor. Part of their problem was the fact that they were champion.
After six weeks, they were not where they wanted to be, and something had changed. He admitted that preparation, training, attitude are the foundation of success. Their results against the bottom three were enough to put them top.
Jose Gimenez admitted that when you win the league, a lot of teams relax.
The league was over by the time the derby came around. They lost four in a row in December. They are 14 points behind Real Madrid after playing a game more.
In the summer, when he was trying to get Griezmann to come home, he suggested that this team could win the European Championship. They were knocked out in the quarterfinals. They took Manchester City to the line but were knocked out again. The idea that they were unlucky is undermined by the fact that they did not win a game at home in the competition. They were knocked out of the competition by Real Sociedad.
All sorts of things happen in a season. Everyone thought that the squad was the strongest ever. A recurring theme this year was a sense of lost identity. They had a team that changed weekly. There were departures and injuries. Daniel Wass, who was signed to replace Trippier, played just 45 minutes. Nothing was right.
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He admitted that he had never experienced a situation like that before in his 10 years at the club. He said this was the hardest season they had. There are things that do not change. On Wednesday, they secured a spot in the playoffs for next year. You would be right if you said, "So what?" They should do that. Look at the cost of assembling the squad. This is what you could expect. It is now, and that is the point. This is a minimum requirement for the coach in part because he is a victim of his own success. It must be sustained.
The sporting director and the CEO of the club met with the coach after the loss to Levante. That was followed by a meeting with the playing staff, in which they were told that their contracts were at risk if they did not make the playoffs. We won't be able to pay you. The second loss to Mallorca was the last game that they won. To keep their players, they needed to qualify for the league. Football success leads to growth at all levels, which allows for more football success, and so on.
It was not always so, and there has to be a starting point.
When I arrived, they asked for more than one qualification. It was necessary to build, consolidate and compete. It will be 10 in a row next year. Every single full season in which Simeone has been there, a routine, a basic standard made of something that was not certain, was celebrated as a success. His team qualified for the competition for a tenth consecutive season on his 400th league game, seven off the club record. He and Luis Aragones have taken charge of over 800 games in the first division between them.
In the period before him, it was 10/10 for Simeone. It is 10 top-three finishes in a row, compared to none in the previous 16 seasons.
They did something they would have celebrated once in their worst year, but they are not going away. There was a moment seven or eight years ago when a coach from another club came through the middle of the pitch after a game at the old Calderon stadium.
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