Atletico are changing whether Simeone wants it or not

After the 0-1 defeat at Vicente Calderon, Carlo Ancelotti lamented that Bayern had met the ghost of the past, still the Atletico of yesterday. But the reality was not like what Carletto saw.

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"Atletico's style is still the same," Ancelotti could not stop repeating that phrase. Indeed, after 90 harsh minutes in Spain in the Champions League group stage, the Italian strategist hated Diego Simeone's tactics. But unlike the defensive Atletico of last season, the form that El Cholo and his players have just shown is quite different.

Last February, in a moment of excitement, Simeone asserted: "We are a tough, strong, sharp team, full of energy on the counter-attack. I never want to change this way of playing. In fact, we don't know any other style. If Atletico changed, it would be a disaster." It was clear that the Argentine coach had shaped his players' style and had no desire to improve. But over time and circumstances, Simeone's team unconsciously shot and passed more than in previous seasons. They showed signs of shifting to controlling the game.

Atletico's stats have improved season after season.

Simeone clearly understands the potential risks of change. But Atletico's evolution is not by choice but by necessity. In other words, it is something that, sooner or later, a pragmatist like Simeone must admit in order to adapt to the changing times.

This season, Atletico have drawn three times in La Liga, including two against newly promoted teams like Alaves and Leganes. In those bad results, Simeone has been accused of being too cautious, to the point that Antoine Griezmann was forced to speak up: "It's time for us to start being ourselves." And the results have come quickly.

In the 2014/15 season, Atletico scored 30 goals from set pieces, which is 10 goals more than the second-placed team in terms of goals scored in this way in La Liga. Simeone's team only scored 30 goals from organized attacks, a very modest number compared to Barca and Real (both 86 goals). But in the 2015/16 season, the red and white team had 50 goals when organizing attacks. This figure in the 2016/17 season was 12 goals after only 7 rounds. What's more special is that Simeone's team has not scored any goals from set pieces up to this point.

According to bongdaplus