Spanish La Liga News: Atletico Madrid at the Start of the New Season
The new La Liga season in Spain has started, and the clubs have lined up for battles against each other. At the start of this season, all the anticipation was built around Real Madrid and Barcelona, as both clubs looked set to go against each other. With all the money and superstars gathered in these two clubs, others did not look good in comparison.
Madrid’s local rivals Atletico Madrid had no chances to break in the top two of Spain. However, the results in the first week showed a different picture, as Real Madrid failed to produce good results, while Atletico Madrid sits on the top of the table. Atletico Madrid had an amazing result against Sporting Gijon, against the odds. Real Madrid, on the other hand, had a draw against Mallorca.
The start of the previous season was not good enough for Atletico Madrid, as they failed to get the expected results in their matches. Due to a series of bad results, Atletico Madrid could only manage a ninth place finish on the table, outside all European spots. Atletico won only two fixtures away from home, which eventually resulted in their downfall. Although the potential was there, due to some reasons Atletico Madrid was not able to make any impact in La Liga.
Similar things were happening in the Champions League, as the struggling Atletico side was unable to go past the group stages. However, they did manage to somewhat redeem themselves in the end, by finishing in the Europa Cup after their elimination. Towards the end of the previous season, things were starting to look good for Atletico Madrid again, as they managed to pull themselves out of the relegation position.
In the end, it was a great performance by Atletico in the second half of last season, as they managed to pull themselves out of trouble. Apart from that, Atletico managed to win the Europa League. In Spain, Atletico made it to the final of Copa Del Ray, but they were beaten by Sevilla in the end.
At the start of the new season, Atletico was a totally different squad from last year. They faced Inter Milan in their first battle for the European Super Cup, a match played between winner of the Champions League and Europa League. Atletico Madrid beat Inter Milan in the match with a comfortable margin of 2-0. Therefore, the team’s spirits were high for their first match against Sporting Gijon. Again, Atletico beat their opponents by 4-0, in what many football pundits claim was a one-sided affair. The team showed a considerable improvement from last year, with a clear intention of winning silverware. The attack was great, and the defence was also solid, which meant that the game was controlled by Atletico’s players.
One good thing that happened to Atletico Madrid was Diego Forlan’s tremendous form in the World Cup in South Africa. Diego Forlan is Atletico’s main striker, but he scored only 18 goals last season. However, he was able to help his National side, Uruguay, finish fourth in the 2010 World Cup. The Atletico’s striker scored five goals in the tournament, due to which he was awarded the Golden Ball for being the best player.
Forlan continued his good form by scoring twice against Sporting. Apart from him, Sergio Aguero looks to be in great shape, as the young Argentinean was a scorer in the victory against Inter Milan. Also, Jose Antonio Reyes seems to be back in form, as he also showed his goal scoring abilities in the match against Inter.
As things stand now, the equation looks different in La Liga. Atletico Madrid suddenly seems to be a team that can break in the top two. However, they would have to rely heavily on Diego Forlan, who is flying high at the moment. If Forlan stays fit for the most part, there is no doubt that Atletico can beat the odds by replacing Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
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