Paulo Ferreira

Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 win against Valencia ensured that they remained in touch with Real Madrid and Barcelona after nine games.

It is extremely important for the former league champions to do so and not allow the giants to open a sizeable advantage at this early stage in the season. It was one of the reasons for Atletico failing to put up a title challenge last season. Even though Atletico have not been attractive as Madrid or Barcelona, their functional style of football has seen them take 19 points from the opening nine games. This victory over Valencia made it three consecutive victories for Atletico.

Manager Diego Simeone claimed that he was happy with the result and performance of his players. It looked like Simeone was running out of ideas when the team went through a run of three matches without a win towards the end of September. He has managed to turn around the situation very quickly. Summer signings Yannick Ferreira Carrasco and Jackson Martinez scored the goals that one match for Atletico, who were extremely nervous in the last few minutes of the game thanks to a late goal from PacoAlcacer.Alcacer had converted from the penalty spot, but it proved to be only a consolation.

“We had one of our best games in recent memory. From start to finish, we dominated the pitch, always won the second ball, played with profundity, created chances and made opponents like Valencia play on our terms.It’s a shame we only won 2-1 because the margin was too small in comparison with our performance,” said Simeone. Even though both teams were fairly even in terms of possession, Atletico created a lot of opportunities and had nine shots at goal compared to just three from Valencia. Simeone will be looking to carry this form for the next game against Deportivola Coruna.