Uefa super cup. 

Real vs atleti

Costa just roasted varane and ramos and smashed one in. Less than a minute in

That was an incredible goal. He’s a proper CF. Maybe goalie does better.
Good tempo to match.

Real coming alive now. That cross by Bale was perfect. Good game

What’s so bad about being able to play like Atletico Madrid again?

Rodri looks like a player. Another guy whose value will skyrocket in the next 12 months. Actually, every atleti players value has exploded under simeone

Even Lemar looks like he may be a solid understudy to Griezemann if needed

Brilliant from Juanfran

Would you just look at that.

Supreme strike

Another great team goal. Game over most likely.

Fun game. Nothing wrong with the way Atletico play. They are cohesive and have so many dependable veterans.

If you spoke to some on here you’d think they were the very essence of anti football. Very good football team.

flobaba wrote:

If you spoke to some on here you’d think they were the very essence of anti football. Very good football team.

They scored 58 goals last season. For a team that finished 2nd that's ridiculous and kinda spells out the narrative for most games. Of course they're a very good football team but that doesn't change the fact that they are by and large very negative. The fact that a 1-0 down they gave up and decided to settle for the loss at the Emirates tells you all you need to know about their mentality. The fact that we still managed to lose the lead says a lot about our own mentality but that's another story.

That doesn’t tell the whole story. They were a man down after 10 minutes in the first leg of a winnable tie. It makes sense for the game plan to switch over to a defensive focus, which they do well. After they conceded a goal, they came out and equalized. And then did what needed to be done in the second leg. Why can we not give them credit?

In the La Liga season just past, they essentially played the entire season without a proper striker as Costa was out due to injury for most of the season, and Griezemann was off form. 58 goals is not great but not too bad considering you’re missing 20 goals and say 5 assists from a Costa level striker. Still they finished second to Barcelona and ahead of Real Madrid. What’s the shame in that? I appreciate whatever a team does well, be that on the offensive side of the game or on the defensive side. I prefer an expansive attacking style, but I won’t thumb my nose at a team that can parlay defensive excellence into victories and trophies when they have to, especially considering that Simeone’s side is competing against two of the most expensively assembled attacking teams ever in the history of the game.

They only scored 63 and 67 goals the two season before that as well so the Costa injury and Griezmann being off form is not a wholly convincing explanation as to why the scored so few goals last year.

I have no issue with how they setup given that they are significant underdogs but they are a very pragmatic team that do little by way of attractive football. At. Madrid fans should obviously not care what I think because they've done incredibly well but, by the same token, they shouldn't feel like they're being hard done by when most neutrals prefer other teams to watch that combine success and more offensive football.

@flob - while it may work for you, you can't blame others for having a strong dislike for that brand of football. They are quite clearly one of the most negative top sides in Europe.

Also what Mirth said.

Mirth wrote:

I have no issue with how they setup given that they are significant underdogs but they are a very pragmatic team that do little by way of attractive football. At. Madrid fans should obviously not care what I think because they've done incredibly well but, by the same token, they shouldn't feel like they're being hard done by when most neutrals prefer other teams to watch that combine success and more offensive football.

I agree, but there’s not been very many of those with a similar budget who are able to stay competitive like Atletico has been.

Sure, but people/neutrals don't really focus on what the relative budgets of the teams are when deciding whether the game is worth watching from an entertainment pov.

This isn't to belittle At. Madrid. They (and Simone) have been one of the most impressive clubs of this decade but it's hardly an outrage to suggest that their football is quite functional and unentertaining (from most conventional metrics).

They play a steady state game, that sees very few lows, but also few highs unless they win a trophy. I'd imagine Atletio Madrid fans would struggle to name many "classic" games from the past few years that weren't games with a trophy on the line.

Fucking hell, they didn't score two goals in a game through all of last October and had 6 0-0 games last season.

They are not negative till the sense you have to dislike them in my opinion. For starters, they are much more positive than Mourinho in big games.

lemar, griezmann, and costa will all contribute goals this season. gabi has left and been replaced by a more progressive player in rodri. i wouldn't be surprised if they scored 75-80+ this season

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:

Ooooo kaaaaaay

Don't know where to start there. What the fuckity fuck???

It'll be a wall to wall disaster.

They'll just lay down at the first sign of pressure

Daz wrote:
Asterix wrote:

How about this then? I'm completely floored. Perhaps it helps players weave their way past defenders. Should be worn by Darius Tassell.

https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/russian-club-release-bizarre-new-strip

I don't think I'd buy it.

Yeah if they wear that in a match they'll definitely get walked all over!

Maybe, but a good sweeper keeper can limit the damage. 

Usmanov should buy them.

Manolas was a disaster defensively for Roma, despite scoring the equalizer. Have to say I have a real soft spot for Florenzi.

Pastore's opener, though. Golazzo.

I would stay well clear of Manolas. Has been dodgy for years despite somehow being rated highly here.

Understandable decision. I think Southgate's treatment of Vardy has been a big mistake personally.