(Football news) Atletico Madrid have added another win to their longest unbeaten run in La Liga after defeating Rayo Vallecano. Atletico Madrid travelled to Vallecas and were victorious over Rayo Vallecano by 1-2 courtesy of goals scored by their defenders Nahuel Molina and Mario Hermoso.
Atletico did start the season as they wanted it to be. They finished their UEFA Champions League group stage in the bottom of their group. Even during the World Cup they did not have any hint of the top 4 as they were not near it. But since then, they have made a strong comeback and are on the course to finish the season on high.
Atletico Madrid’s captain Koke stated in an interview with Mundo Deportivo that: “Our primary objective is to qualify for the Champions League because that is what the club demands of us, and it’s what we have been able to do for many years now. But, we should set our sights even higher. We know that FC Barcelona are very difficult to catch because they are a long way ahead of us, but why not try to finish second? We’re on a good run, we’ve only got one game per week and, with the players we have at this level, I think we can compete and try to finish second.”
10 years of top 3 for Atletico
Since Diego Simeone joined hands with Atletico de Madrid they have been very impressive. Simeone joined Atletico in 2011/12 during the mid season but since his full season campaigns, Atletico have finished in the top 3 every single year under him.
Atletico have been the La Liga winners twice under Simeone in 2013/14 and 2020/21 and they have finished 2nd on a couple of occasions.
Atletico aim to finish 4 times above Real Madrid in six campaigns. They have finished 3 times above Real Madrid in the last 5 years and are on the way to make it 4 out of 6.
Title Challenge for 2023/24
Simeone’s 3-5-2 formation that led Atletico Madrid to win the league in 2020/21 has a special impact and he has returned to that same formation and brought the team back to winning ways. These are the same set of players who won the league a couple of seasons ago.
Atletico are scoring goals for fun as they have scored 13 goals in their last five matches. Right now in Europe, Atletico are one of those teams who you can watch attacking the game for fun. Not only the attack but the defence has been stubborn as they have just conceded 5 goals in their 12 match unbeaten run. Their defenders Jose Jimenez, Mario Hermoso and Stefan Savic have been excellent till now and their goalkeeper Jan Oblak is having the best of times behind these great defenders.
Atletico fans are enjoying the way their team is playing and hoping that this form continues and they go past Real Madrid and finish 2nd in the table.
Also read: Barcelona fail to score past Girona as the match ends at 0-0
