Atletico Madrid

After their exit from not just the Champions League but all European competitions for 2022/23, Pete Sharland looks at what has gone wrong for Atletico ...

They have to work out who they want to keep and who they want to sell, and the players they need to buy in order to build a team Simeone can challenge with, both at home and abroad. Given that Real Madrid have Raul waiting in their wings to take over from Carlo Ancelotti there is a small chance that the Madrid derby could have two of Spain's greatest ever strikers in the dugout in the not too distant future. The problem has been that like a particularly energetic and shouty leopard, Simeone has been unable to change his spots. It's also worth pointing out that Fernando Torres - yes that one - and his youth side topped their UEFA Youth League group, winning five out of their six matches. In the past it was easier to get blood from a stone than it was to get past Simeone’s brutal defensive structure. It’s worth reiterating, especially to younger fans, that Atletico are not meant to be in this place. If that proves to be the case then Atletico need a plan. Clearly the fans were not happy, seeming to gesture towards Saul to go and get the others out of the changing rooms. That Simeone did so twice, often on a fraction of the budget, is remarkable. It’s not that they’re not a big club, they’re a massive club. Cadiz, with one win in their previous eleven in La Liga, had led 2-0 only to see Joao Felix score twice in the final five minutes of normal time to make it 2-2. With his disciplined defensive style, Simeone established Atletico as a force both at home and abroad.

Atletico Madrid have crashed out of Europe in gruesome fashion following a lacklustre defeat to Porto, which summed up a poor campaign in the Champions League.

Simeone’s side finish fourth in the group, managing just one win in extremis over Porto in their first match. Things looked bleak but just as depressing was the lack of reaction from Atleti in the second half. The first half belonged to the home side as they cut Atleti open repeatedly, only Jan Oblak keeping Porto from a rout in the first 45 minutes.

Whoops. To the ratings: Oblak. An unmarked Mehdi Taremi tapped in the opening goal inside five minutes. Kept Atlético Madrid in it with a big save on Wenderson ...

Entered for Saúl in the 60th minute. Had the ball in the net with a great 68th-minute finish, but it was pulled back for a foul. Though the Belgian’s end product is missing, his overall form is slowly coming back...just in time for the World Cup. Appeared to be in a decent position to cut out Pepê’s pass to Evanilson for Taremi’s opener, but somehow missed the ball and only jogged back into position. Had a decent appeal for a penalty around the half-hour mark, his only contribution in Atlético’s empty first half. One shot attempt in the first half, a header hit so poorly it ended up at the corner flag. Struggled to get involved offensively, but found space in the penalty area for a 74th minute effort that lacked any power behind it. Booked for a bad challenge on Zaidu early in the second half. As he is too limited offensively to be considered a top-drawer left-back, Atlético have to figure out the best system and best position for Reinildo, who has been a great signing for the fee paid but is also a player whose limitations are obvious. The Mozambican was forced to fend for himself on both of Porto’s first half goals, later booked for a sloppy challenge on Otávio. Clean distribution from the back, and he led the team in accurate long balls (11), but without a conduit between midfield and attack — not to mention multiple misfiring forwards — those line-breaking passes went for naught. [Atlético Madrid](https://www.intothecalderon.com) in it with a big save on Wenderson Galeno before the 15-minute mark, but Stephen Eustáquio beat him from close range on 24 minutes, effectively sealing the game.

Atletico Madrid have finished bottom of their Champions League group following a 2-1 defeat to Porto.

[BUY FIFA 23 NOW](https://www.ea.com/games/fifa/fifa-23) Who will win the UEFA Champions League this season? THE BIGGER PICTURE: Diego Simeone's side were 1-0 down after just five minutes thanks to Mehdi Taremi in a game they needed to win, and found themselves two behind just 20 minutes later.

Porto sealed top spot in Champions League Group B with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Like us on [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.robo.ndtv.cricket&hl=en)or [iOS](https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/ndtv-cricket/id418320331?mt=8). Porto sealed top spot in Champions League Group B with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, with the Spanish side dumped out of Europe entirely as Bayer Leverkusen finished third. Bayer Leverkusen drew 0-0 with second-placed surprise package Club Brugge in the other game, moving level with Atletico on five points and finishing ahead of them on head-to-head, leaving the Spanish side bottom of a group which they expected to win. "As I've always said, I work for the team, I do my best and then the goals come. "We have to learn (from it). "Now we have to focus hard, work, shut our mouths and fight.

The Rojiblancos have brought in some big names since Diego Simeone took charge over a decade ago.

€10M €35M €26.5M

Antoine Griezmann had a couple of irregular seasons since he moved to Barcelona, but now he is back playing for Atletico Madrid. Read along to find out how ...

Given all his trajectory, which includes a [World Cup](https://bolavip.com/en/world-cup-2022-simulator) crown in Russia 2018, the lefty attacker definitely owns one of the most lucrative contracts in the world. [a full-time Atletico Madrid piece](https://bolavip.com/en/soccer/antoine-griezmann-totally-forgets-barcelona-sends-message-after-signing-with-atletico-madrid-20221010-0013.html). [Barcelona ](https://bolavip.com/en/soccer/pedris-salary-at-barcelona-how-much-he-makes-per-hour-day-week-month-and-year-20221101-0047.html)in 2019. One of the most interesting things about Griezmann’s contract history is how he was willing to take massive pay cuts to stay in Atletico Madrid. The French scorer recently signed a new deal with the club until the end of the 2025-2026 season. At that time, the [120 million euros](https://bolavip.com/en/soccer/5-signings-that-disappointed-in-laliga-serie-a-ligue-1-premier-league-bundesliga-20220510-0012.html) the Culés paid for him was the fifth-highest transfer in soccer history, but things didn’t go very well for him.

Sérgio Conceição's side took the lead in the 5th minute when Mehdi Taremi converted from close range. Galeno was instrumental in creating the second goal for ...

The former Porto junior joined rivals Benfica in 2015 before sealing a €127m switch to Atlético in 2019. [beating Brugge 4-0 in Belgium](/club-news/2879-porto-exact-sweet-revenge-against-club-brugge-to-book-last-16-champions-league-berth) which secured a spot in the Round of 16. Galeno beat Savić in another individual duel which resulted in Taremi holding the ball up and picking out Otávio who was denied by Oblak. Zaidu Sanusi was having another strong game before picking up an injury at the start of the second half. Evanilson got behind José Giménez and latched onto Pepê’s through ball, the striker squaring the ball to an unmarked Mehdi Taremi who couldn’t miss. Sérgio Conceição’s side took the lead in the 5th minute when Mehdi Taremi converted from close range.

Atletico Madrid lost all three away games in a single Champions League group stage for the first time in their history; Atletico are winless in their last ...

In a group with Club Brugge, Porto and Bayer Leverkusen, for them to get just one win and to finish bottom is an embarrassment. When you look at the teams that have knocked them out of this competition, it's really embarrassing." As recently as 2021, they were crowned La Liga champions, taking advantage of the ongoing uncertainty at Real Madrid and Barcelona but they have been in reverse ever since. From an Atletico point of view, they don't see it the way we do. "I think the cycle ended a long time ago. "The emotional side comes before to everything else," he told reporters. Griezmann said after the defeat in Porto: "If you only win one match in the group stage you don't deserve anything. We ended up in the place we deserved. Not the Champions League round of 16 nor the Europa League. "You can always be worse," the Argentine said. Tensions boiled over on the pitch as De Paul and Fabio Cardoso were both cautioned, but Simeone barely flinched on the sidelines. Diego Simeone sat motionless in the away dugout.

PETE JENSON: Atletico Madrid's Champions League exit has cost them millions, Joao Felix is now a £114m sub and they're lagging behind in Spain... Diego ...

The last time he was written off he guided the side to the league title in that peculiar pandemic ruined season of 2020-2021. The two have never seen eye to eye and increasingly they are not trying to hide it. For now it's Simeone for the foreseeable. We found that out in 2014 when we won the league but many players left.' He has started none the club's last five league games. That £17.7m is not far off the sum paid to Simeone net per season.