Atlético Madrid Accused of Picking and Choosing When to Try — and It's Costing Them
Spanish football pundits tore into Atlético Madrid after their 3-3 draw in Bruges, questioning the squad's consistency, focus and professional attitude.
The 3-3 draw in Bruges has opened a right can of worms for Atlético Madrid — and the Spanish football press aren’t letting Simeone’s side off the hook anytime soon.
A Result That Looked Fine on Paper, Felt Awful in Reality
On the face of it, a 3-3 away draw in the Champions League knockout phase isn’t a disaster. But context is everything, innit. Atlético went into the break at Jan Breydel Stadium two goals to the good — and somehow let Club Brugge claw it back to level. That’s not a tactical masterclass, that’s a bottle job.
The panel on Radio MARCA’s La Tribu were pretty unanimous: this result stings, and it’s symptomatic of a much deeper problem running through the Atlético squad this season.
What the Pundits Said
Here’s the gist of what the tertulianos were arguing:
- Inconsistency is the real enemy. Atlético have the squad to be competing at the very top, but they keep switching off at crucial moments. Going from 0-2 up at half-time to drawing 3-3 is, frankly, inexcusable at this level.
- The players are choosing their moments. This was the big one. The feeling among several pundits was that Atlético’s players seem to decide when they want to turn it on — and that’s not good enough. As one put it, they’ve “picked up the bad habits of a big club” — coasting, going through the motions, expecting results to come without full commitment.
- It’s not a Simeone problem, it’s a player problem. Interestingly, the blame was shifted largely onto the dressing room rather than the manager. The suggestion of a captain’s revolt or some sort of internal boycott was dismissed — this looks more like a collective drop in standards than a dressing room mutiny.
- Brugge away is a tough gig, but still. Fair play to Club Brugge — they’re no mugs at home. But Atlético were still expected to see that one out, and they didn’t.
The Bigger Picture: 15 Points Off Madrid
The stat that really hurts? Atlético currently sit 15 points behind Real Madrid in La Liga — and Madrid have already sacked their manager this season. That’s a proper indictment of where Atlético are at right now. You can’t be that far adrift of your city rivals and claim you’re in a title race with a straight face.
The Champions League now becomes even more important for Atlético to salvage something meaningful from this campaign. But if they carry this sort of form into the second leg, Brugge will fancy their chances of pulling off a genuine upset.
The Verdict
Atlético Madrid are a club with genuine quality — the squad depth is there, the manager has the pedigree. But right now they look like a side that’s forgotten how to grind. The old Simeone hallmarks — defensive solidity, collective graft, never giving an inch — have gone a bit AWOL. Whether that’s fatigue, complacency or something more troubling in the dressing room remains to be seen.
The second leg against Brugge will tell us a lot. Bottle it, and this season could unravel pretty quickly.
Source: Radio MARCA – La Tribu