MADRID.- More faithful than ever to the ‘cholista’ philosophy of “never stop believing”, Atlético de Madrid says goodbye to 2024 as the sole leader after winning seven consecutive wins in LaLiga and cutting 10 points from Barcelona, which leads Colchoneros fans to dream of titles this season.
After a difficult start to the campaign, the Argentine coach Diego ‘Cholo’ Simeone He has seen how all the pieces fit together, with a solid starting team, in which figures such as Oblak, De Paul, Julián Álvarez and Griezmann stand out, and some substitute players who contribute to success.
Without a doubt, the twelve consecutive wins in all competitions (LaLiga, Champions League and Copa del Rey), seven of them away from home, have helped increase optimism. November was perfect and December too.
The ‘cholista’ philosophy also indicates that to win you have to suffer and that is what the team did on Saturday in Barcelona, winning by the minimum (2-1) in the last moments with a goal from the Norwegian Alexander Sorloth.
Goals from the bench
In similar circumstances, they had already beaten Paris SG, Athletic, Celta or Mallorca before.
Of the top seven finishers in LaLiga, Atlético only has to visit Real Madrid. The rest will be measured at the Metropolitano.
Demonstrating competitiveness and physical strength, the team has scored 14 of its 33 goals in LaLiga starting in the 75th minute. In addition, 11 goals were scored by substitutes.
That’s where Sorloth comes in, who scored five in the final minutes. Against Barça, Getafe and Alavés, his goals gave the victory. “It’s cold. I tell him it’s a great goal and he says ‘goal’. We had a talk with him three or four weeks ago explaining the idea I have (…) His 20, 30 or 40 minutes are extraordinary, it takes us out of behind, he gives a feeling of danger,” Simeone said about his forward after the game in Barcelona.
The scoring contribution from the bench of other players such as Ángel Correa, Samuel Lino and Giuliano Simeone also stands out.
Unlike the plague of serious injuries suffered by his great rivals, Real Madrid and Barcelona, Simeone has been lucky to have all 23 players almost all the time, with no major injuries to regret.
And when there has been some loss among the starters, men like ‘Gio’ Simeone himself, Clement Lenglet and Javi Galán, have responded with a great performance that has led them to the title.
Twelve consecutive wins
“Galán’s thing is incredible, we didn’t take him into account when the season started, he could go out, we saw him trained with nobility and that always adds up. He had the opportunity, football is like that,” Simeone highlighted when referring to one of the players who more is surprising this season.
“We found ourselves along the way. As a coach our greatest virtue is to accompany what they are doing well, give it a structure and so that the team can progress as they play the game,” added Simeone, chosen as the best coach of December by LaLiga.
If Atlético de Madrid beats Marbella on January 4 in the Copa del Rey, the team will achieve its thirteenth victory, its best streak of consecutive wins in history.
And it will give their fans more reasons to maintain the dream of lifting a trophy at the end of the season.
