The lowdown on Atlético Madrid
Barça travel to Atlético Madrid this Sunday at 9.00pm CET in what is traditionally one of the toughest away trips of any Liga season. Let’s take a closer look at the team they call the 'mattress-makers'.
HISTORY
Founded by Basques living in the Spanish capital (hence the name and the red and white shirts modelled on those of Athletic Club), Atlético Madrid is one of the biggest clubs in the world. But competing in the same league as the even more gargantuan Real Madrid and FC Barcelona means trophies have been harder to come by than one would normally expect for a club of such stature.
They have won the league eleven times, most recently in 2021. They have also won the Europa League three times in the last decade, while also reaching the Champions League final twice, suffering the pain of losing on both occasions to their city rivals Real.
THE STADIUM
Located in the Rosas neighbourhood, the Cívitas Metropolitano replaced the Vicente Calderón as the home of Atlético in 2017. It is an expansion of an abandoned ground originally built for an unsuccessful bid to host the World Athletics Championships. Holding over 68,000 supporters, it was here that Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 to win the Champions League in 2019.
HEAD TO HEAD
There's been a very clear pattern in games between Barça and Atlético over the years. Especially in the 1990s, these meetings were famed for being absolute humdingers, with an amazing average of 4.1 goals a game in that decade. And although the goal count of 3.8 per game was still high in the 2000s, the tradition of high-scoring drama whenever the sides clash has very much disappeared in more recent years.
Perhaps as a result of Diego Simeone’s ‘caution first’ approach, encounters in the 2010s were far more intense, tactical, low-scoring affairs, producing just 2.5 goals a game. And so far in 2020s, goals have been even rarer still, less than two per match.
When Carrasco scored the only goal in Atlético’s win at the Wanda Metropolitano on 2020, it put an end to Barça’s astonishing run of 20 consecutive league encounters without losing to Atlético. There would instead be a run of four games in which Barça failed to win any.
Since Xavi as been at the helm, however, Barça have recovered their positive form against the red-and-whites. Thus far, we've had four games and four wins, the last three of which have all ended 1-0.
Last five meetings (all La Liga)
03/12/23 (LIGA) Barça 1-0 Atlético
23/04/23 (LIGA) Barça 1-0 Atlético
08/01/23 (LIGA) Atlético 0-1 Barça
06/02/22 (LIGA) Barça 4-2 Atlético Madrid
2/10/21 (LIGA) Atlético 2 Barça 0
FORM GUIDE
Atlético have spent the whole season hovering around fourth place in the league, never quite managing to join the frontrunners in the title race while at the same battling to make sure they stay in the Champions league zone, something which they currently look very likely to do.
It's their away form that's been seriously letting them down, with just two miserable points to show from their last nine road trips. That's an astonishing contrast to their performances at the Metropolitano, where other than a 3-3 draw with Getafe they have beaten absolutely everybody, and that includes city rivals Real, the only time the Liga leaders have been beaten in competition.
And Atlético also knocked Real Madrid out of the cup before losing to Athletic Club in the semi-final, the only time they have been beaten at home in 2023-24.
The pattern has been similar in Europe, where they have won every Champions League game at the Metropolitano, but only managed to beat Feyenoord on their travels. They come into this Sunday's fixture on a major high after turning around a 1-0 defeat in Milan to eventually see off Inter and earn their place in the quarter finals.
THE PLAYERS
Most capped internationals
Axel Witsel (Belgium, 130), Antoine Griezmann (France, 127); Memphis Depay (Netherlands, 88), José Giménez (Uruguay, 83); Stefan Savić (Montenegro, 72); Koke (Spain, 70); Álvaro Morata (Spain, 69), Jan Oblak (Slovenia, 62); Rodrigo de Paul (Argentina, 60); César Azpilicueta (Spain, 44), Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique, 39), Nahuel Molina (Argentina, 35), Thomas Lemar (France, 27), Ángel Correa (Argentina, 24)
Barça connections
Antoine Griezmann joined Barça from Atlético Madrid in 2019, and after making 74 appearances and scoring 22 goals, making him the club’s second highest scoring Frenchman of all time after Thierry Henry, he is now back at Atlético. He has scored twice against Barça in the past, both when playing for Real Sociedad, but has yet to do so for Atlético.
Memphis Depay, now the second highest goalscorer of all time for the Dutch national team, joined Barça from Lyon and was in Catalonia for a season and a half from 2021–2023 before joining Atlético during the winter transfer window last season.
THE BOSS
Best known for his over 100 caps, including three World Cups, for Argentina, Diego Simeone played a large part of his club football at Atlético. Following retirement, he managed a number of clubs in his home country plus Catania in Italy before being invited back to Atlético in 2011 as a replacement for the sacked Gregorio Manzano.
He has gone on to become the club’s most successful manager ever, leading them to two Liga and three Europa League titles, and to the final of the Champions League on two occasions.