Nightmare In Navarra With Barca having lost to La Real, Atlético had the chance to go three points clear of the Catalans but Diego Simeone’s squad rotation backfires horrendously as Atleti were beaten 3-0 in Pamplona The intelligent opener came courtesy of a set piece straight off the training ground. The second and the third were both the consequence of pressing the opponent into a mistake, an opportune long-range strike doubling the advantage, a quick-fire counter-attack putting the game safe beyond reach. In so many ways this was a typical Diego Simeone performance, but for one rather significant exception. For this time El Cholo was on the receiving end, an industrious, impressive and intelligent Osasuna condemning Atletico Madrid to their heaviest league defeat of the season. A win tonight would have taken them top and heading into next week’s crucial derby fresh off the back of a three-match winning streak. Instead, Atleti will begin next Sunday’s game three points behind Real Madrid, and on the evidence of tonight’s display that gap will very soon grow to six. Dropping points away to Osasuna is not in itself a disaster. Both Real and Barca had already failed to win in El Sadar this season, and there is arguably no more intimidating place to play football in Spain than in Pamplona. It is the Stoke on a wet, cold and windy Wednesday night of La Liga and the nearly-vertical stands create a ferocious atmosphere that is intensified when the big boys roll into town. Yet so insipid were Atleti tonight that in the 88th minute a Mexican Wave was doing the rounds of el Reyno de Navarra. There was no tension, there was barely even excitement. The locals could almost feel aggrieved: how could they claim this as a famous victory when it had been so easy? Where was the Ronaldo, Ramos or Busquets, the pantomime villain to keep the crowd riled to the very end? Diego Costa did his best to adopt this role, but tonight he resembled a bull coming to the end of the run on San Fermin – his groggy, disoriented demeanour negating any genuine threat or fight he possessed. While a fit-again Filipe Luis had presented Diego with a good chance in the third minute, it was apparent straight from kick-off that Atleti were in for a tough night. Osasuna were far crisper in their passing, and had already looked threatening prior to taking the lead in the 6th minute. From a corner on the left hand-side, Alvaro Cejudo managed to ghost in completely unmarked to neatly put away Emiliano Armenteros’ delivery. While Osasuna’s use of dummy runners was clever and perfectly executed, there was a simplicity to the goal that must surely have concerned Simeone. And when it took a last-ditch Mario Suarez header to prevent an Osasuna second on 9 minutes, the Argentinian must have feared the worst. The home side were having plenty of joy down the left where an utterly anonymous Adrian was offering no protection to an equally poor Juanfran. It was the latter’s mistake that would lead to Osasuna’s second, as a weak defensive header fell to Armenteros. His strike from 20 yards was sublime, however it is hard to imagine Gabi and Mario Suarez would have allowed him so much space to shoot had they been playing anywhere near the level that had seen Atleti top the table only two weeks ago. This curious lack of urgency was once again apparent in Osasuna’s third, a goal that perfectly summed up just how poor the side from the capital were in the first 45 minutes. David Villa was robbed in possession just inside his own half, and the ball found it’s way out to Damia on the left-hand side. He was allowed far too much space by Juanfran to pick out Roberto Torres, who had found his way in between Alderweild and Godin with worrying ease to nod past Courtois and effectively kill this game as a contest. While neither right-back nor centre backs had covered themselves in glory, one felt it was the Asturian who would most feel his manager’s wrath at half-time. Villa’s reaction to being dispossessed had been to simply stop running and throw his hands up in the air, the exact opposite to the never say die attitude that has characterised this Atleti team over the last two years. This act of laziness and petulance may have gone unpunished had the energetic Arda Turan and Koke been on the pitch, but replacements Adrian and Diego Ribas left Atleti’s rearguard fatally exposed. The latter showed some nice touches, but his tendency to try to force the issue saw him give the ball away on a numerous occasions. The former may well have played himself through the exit door this summer, the once promising forward’s decline now seemingly terminal. That both Arda and Koke, along with Miranda, had been rested will dominate the coverage of this game. Whether Simeone underestimated his opponents or overestimated his replacements is unclear, but there is no doubting that this was one of the few times he had got it seriously wrong since moving to the Calderon. Miranda’s importance to the back four has never been more obvious than in his absence tonight. That this side could possess the best defensive record in La Liga was simply unimaginable on this showing, and were it not for the side-netting Cejudo could have made the scoreline even more embarrassing for the away side in the 72nd minute. By that stage, this had long ceased to be a contest. Costa, Koke, Juanfran and Raul Garcia all managed to carve out half chances, yet there was a sense that this was as much down to the substitution of the impressive French centre-back Jordan Loties as anything else. Indeed the final whistle came as something of a relief to the Atleti bench, as a frustrated Diego Costa flirted with the yellow card that would have ruled him out of next week’s derby. The avoidance of any suspensions for next Sunday combined with the return of Filipe provided the tiniest of silver linings on what was the greyest of days for Los Rojiblancos. Taken in isolation, this game could be viewed simply as a blip, a consequence of an exhausting and exhilarating trip to the San Siro midweek. However viewed in the context of the last month, there has to be a fear that this is something else. The intensity with which Atleti played in the first half of the season could never be maintained, and there is now very little gas left in the tank. In the 50-game-a-season format of modern football, it is squads that win titles, not starting XIs. The evidence from both Almeria and now Pamplona is that Atleti’s squad is going to struggle. Marca’s pre-match headline described El Sadar as a ground where titles are won and lost. It may be a bit drastic to make such a proclamation in February, however a repeat performance in next weekend’s derby and Simeone’s men will be well advised to switch their focus purely to Europe and the Champions League
Posted on: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 12:41:18 +0000
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