“Football is very changing. What’s nice about it is that the unexpected sometimes ends up happening“, he said this Wednesday, pure poetry, Diego Pablo Simeone about the return of the Copa del Rey semi-final that Athletic plays against Atlético this Thursday (9:30 p.m.) in San Mamés. Cholo appeals, of course, to optimism to imagine himself in the final of La Cartuja against the Mallorca, which eliminated Real Sociedad on penalties on Tuesday. And he may achieve it, for which he must overcome the 0-1 that Berenguer signed in the Metropolitano, but the data recommends that Atlético not be optimistic. These are the five reasons that flood the red and white fans with pessimism.
Poor results at home
The background of Simeone’s team as a visitor this season is quite poor and is in fact the reason why at this point in the season they are so far from the leadership, 13 points behind Real Madrid, setting their goal at qualify for the next Champions League.
If only home games counted, Atlético would be the leader of the competition, since they have only given up one draw against Getafe. As a visitor, the colchoneros are, however, the eighth team in the competition, with four wins, three draws and six losses.
The current streak is two draws and two defeats in the last four games outside the Metropolitano. In the last three months, they have only won as a visitor against Granada in LaLiga and against Lugo of Primera RFEF in the Cup.
From Paul, after Almería’s recent draw against Atlético. / EFE
San Mamés is a fort
And if that were not enough, Atlético has to try to make a comeback in one of the most difficult fields of the season. San Mamés has only suffered one defeat this seasonagainst Real Madrid on the first day of LaLiga, and two draws, against Getafe in September and against Valencia in October.
Since then, four months, Athletic has chained nine consecutive victories in San Mamés, all of them in LaLiga, a historic streak. According to the X Adurizpedia account, specialized in data on the Bilbao team, Athletic had not had a streak like this since 1985.
The consolation for Atlético is that in recent times Athletic has lost defensive efficiency, also in San Mamés, where five teams have scored the two goals that the colchoneros would need to advance to the final before some hypothetical penalties.
Athletic Club vs Girona FC. / EFE
Athletic, much more cup winner
The recent love affair between both clubs with the Cup finals does not fill Atlético with optimism either. The people of Madrid, who In the 90s they played five finals, they have only played two so far this century. The most recent dates back to 2013, 11 years ago, when they beat Real Madrid 1-2 at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Athletic, on the other hand, has played in the title game five times since 2009. He has lost them all, yes, but he has proven to be very effective in the semifinals that he has played. Although it is no less true, a glimmer of optimism for Atlético, which in the last two editions was eliminated precisely in the semifinal.
The last cup qualifiers that the two red and white teams have played, however, have opted for the Madrid side. The latest precedent is that of the quarterfinals of the 2013-14 edition. The last occasion in which the Athletic Atlético got out of the Cup in the very distant 1969-70 season, in the round of 16. Ernesto Valverde was six years old at the time and Cholo Simeone had been born just a month before.
Image of the last Athletic-Atlético, played in December. / EFE
San Mamés, hostile territory for Atlético
The recent history between both teams at San Mamés may not excite Atlético too much either. In the last six games on Bilbao soil, all of them in LaLiga, Simeone’s men have only won in one of them(0-1 last season).
The most recent precedent was in December, when Athletic won 2-0, in a result that fell very short given the Biscayan superiority on the pitch.
Griezmann, in an Atlético match. / EFE
And, on top of that, without Griezmann
“Antoine is not going to participate in the game… We need him to recover well. He made a great effort to be ready, but he could not. And with all the peace of mind because the teammates who act for him will do it in the best way “, in this categorical way confirmed this Wednesday Simeone that Antoine Griezmann will not be at San Mamés this Thursday.
And it is not just that Atlético will not be able to count on what is, almost indisputably, its best footballer for the most important match of the season so far. It is no longer just that Simeone cannot align with his second top scorer (18, one less than Morata) and with the man who has participated in the most goals (25, adding seven assists).
The thing is that he also appears in San Mamés without a footballer who has an extraordinary love affair with Athletic. The Bilbao team is Griezmann’s favorite victim in his already extensive career. He has scored 14 goals, more than any other team, two more than what he has achieved against Valencia and Celta. Seven of them have been scored with the Atlético shirt, four with Barça and three with Real Sociedad.
2024-02-29 07:13:59
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