a week ago, Atlético de Madrid was willing to fight for the leadership of the League. A victory in Barcelona would have put him ahead in the standings. Two games later, he is nine points behind of the azulgranas.
They were not just any two games, not only because of the name of the rivals but also because of the place where they were played. Atlético played both games away from their stadium, which ended with two defeats and confirm a worrying trend this season. They have only won two games – against Betis and Getafe – in Of the eight they have played away from home, they have drawn three and lost three. The trend continues in the Champions League, where they have lost the two games they have played outside their stadium, against Liverpool and against Arsenal.
Simeone only finds one reason for this trend outside the Metropolitano: «Having that forcefulness that always brings you closer to getting the games back on track. Forcefulness is key when you play away from home. We have a tough opponent, who has already shown what he is capable of against Naples and against Liverpool,” says the Atlético coach about the PSV.
The Dutch team comes from beat Liverpool at Anfield (1-4) and before that he had already beaten Naples at the Philips Stadion (6-2). However, those are the only two games they have won in European competition. After a poor start, with a home defeat against debutant Union St. Gilloise, they drew against Leverkusen and against Olympiacos away from home.
«I think we need to continue along the same lines. In Barcelona we compete well, in Bilbao we compete well. We don’t win because in football, sometimes you have to win and other times you have to lose,” Simeone assumes without going too deep. «The results have not been positive as we would have wanted. The games we have played away from home since Espanyol [el primero de la temporada] We have even done very good things in games that we couldn’t win because we weren’t forceful or because the opponent had more. In the 14 years that I have been there, we will have won away at some point,” defends Simeone, who ends time and again in forcefulness as the only explanation for the poor results away from the Metropolitano.
«For me everything happens there, I don’t see much else. The team plays good games. The home teams are stronger,” says Simeone. «These are moments, In these 14 years we have 49 or 50 percent effectiveness away from home. “I’m not going to defend myself now, it’s football,” he says.
«It’s a home weekend, an away weekend. With our people we feel very comfortable and we are doing very well, but this club requires you to do well as a visitor as well. They always face it in the same way, going to look for the games and the points, whether at home or away,” says Nahuel Molina, who had to attend to the media with his coach, just as he had done two weeks ago against Inter. Because the things that work are not changed for Simeone. Question of superstition.
Simeone does not resort to injuries to justify poor results outside his stadium. «I don’t like excuses and I don’t hold on to those types of situations. We have a squad with guys who we need to show why they are at Atlético. It is normal that there are injuries with so many games,” he explains.
But injuries are attacking Atlético this season. Now it is Baena, Giménez and Marcos Llorente who are absent due to injury. And in recent weeks they have also been missing Johny Cardoso and Le Normand. The Spanish international has not played for a little over a month, but may return against PSV. «It is in the same phase [que Cardoso]a little further forward. Yesterday he trained well. He does not have that rhythm of play that is needed because he has not played and we will assess whether it is better for him to start from the beginning or not,” says Simeone.
The American is not having continuity this season. He started the season as a starter, but an injury sidelined him. And when he re-entered the team he was injured again at the Camp Nou. “Yesterday he trained better and we’ll see if he can be there to help us,” the Atlético coach says of him.
Atlético has no luck with signings. Baena, essential for the midfield, was also injured against Barcelona and has already missed six games due to injury this season. Without him, Atlético will try to turn around the inertia away from home.
