Atletico Madrid Has Work to Do

Atletico Madrid were mastered by Barcelona in their 3-2 second-leg Copa del Rey quarterfinal loss at home earlier today. They were hit on the counter twice as they played in a flat version of the 4-4-2 which once again got them into trouble.

Diego Simeone has to stick with the 4-2-3-1 or perhaps switch to a 4-3-3 which allowed his club to destroy Olympiacos in the Champions League in late 2014. He enjoys playing in a 4-4-2 against a team that enjoys pressing, possession and creating chances at any given moment in time, especially on the counter.

Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez put together make up the best attacking trio in European soccer today. Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo are close in second, but not as effective in recent games. The former three connected yet again today to make life miserable.

Simeone made the mistake of subbing out Antoine Griezmann at halftime after the winger/striker was very active. His speed, strength and ability to start and finish a counter could have been useful. He would have been crucial in the second half as they needed to score three unanswered in order to advance past Barcelona.

After today’s loss, the 4-4-2 needs to be locked away into a tactical book of mistakes. The 4-2-3-1 was brilliant last week as they only lost 1-0 at the Camp Nou. The 4-3-3 would be free-flowing going forward, which could leave a mess to clean up inside their own half, but if they can field the correct line-up, they would not have to worry about defending as they will finally finish most of their opportunities.

Projected Atletico lineup with the 4-3-3 that will work:

Keeper: Miguel Moya

Defense: Juanfran, Diego Godin, Miranda, Guilherme Siqueira

Midfield: Koke, Gabi, Tiago

Attack: Arda Turan, Mario Mandzukic, Griezmann

Koke, Tiago and Godin were all missing in today’s match which is why they were not as strong defensively. Next time around, with everyone intact, they can defeat Barcelona or any opponent in La Liga for that matter if they play with discipline in this formation.