Atletico Madrid’s 7-4 aggregate Champions League play-off round victory over Club Brugge sees Diego Simeone’s new-look side roll on to face either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16, and comes as veteran attacker Antoine Griezmann mulls a possible move to MLS.
The build-up to Tuesday’s game saw The Athletic report that Orlando City were in advanced discussions to sign Griezmann, most likely this summer but potentially in the coming weeks, and the former France international came off the bench to play a key role in Atletico’s third goal of a 4-1 victory against Brugge on the night.
The hero at the Metropolitano was Atletico striker Alexander Sorloth, who scored a superb hat-trick amid an outstanding all-round No 9 performance, helping his team progress despite further evidence of the defensive issues highlighted by last week’s 3-3 first leg in Belgium.
Simeone’s evolving side have been on a rollercoaster all season — they took just two points from their first three games in La Liga, but then hammered Real Madrid 5-2 in September’s league derbi.
Johnny Cardoso celebrates scoring the first Champions League goal of his career (Pierre-Philippe Marco/Getty Images)
Over the last month, they have had some big wins, including a 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg victory over Barcelona, but also back-to-back defeats to Real Betis (1-0) and Rayo Vallecano (3-0) that ended any faint hopes of a title challenge.
The club’s business in the January window brought tensions between long-serving manager Simeone and recently installed sporting director Mateu Alemany.
Atletico sold three players early in the month, including England international Conor Gallagher to Tottenham for €40million (£35m; $47m), leaving Simeone very thin in some positions, especially midfield and full-back. Reinforcements arrived late in the window — Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman (from Atalanta for €35m) was the only recognised experienced addition among three signings on February 2.
Simeone’s success during his 15 seasons at Atletico has often been built on a teak-tough defence, and aggression and physicality through his team — symbolised by previous warrior figures such as Diego Godin and Diego Costa, who provided the backbone to the teams that reached the 2014 and 2016 Champions League finals.
The current squad has fewer no-nonsense defenders and lots more technical, attacking players — including Griezmann, Lookman, Julian Alvarez and Alex Baena, last summer’s €42m signing from Villarreal. Simeone is still trying to find the right balance in his team, as he admitted when asked at Tuesday’s press conference for the Brugge game about the eight goals they had conceded in their previous three outings.
“We’ve lots of attacking players whose strengths are going forward,” he said. “The team evolved in this way. But we need to get back our defensive side as we’re far from where we want to be. We’re hoping to get back that balance we always look for.”
Atletico’s attacking potential and defensive issues were then clear during the opening 45 minutes of Tuesday’s game. Both teams had chances during a helter-skelter opening, before Atletico went ahead when a long ball forward by goalkeeper Jan Oblak was controlled by Sorloth, who turned his marker Brandon Mechele and fired a powerful strike straight through Simon Mignolet into the net.
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That appeared to put Atletico in control of the tie, but a Brugge side packed with young, exciting players hit back. The visitors forced a series of corners, and one was eventually flicked on by Mechele, and nodded over the line from close range by fellow centre-back Joel Ordonez.
It meant Simeone’s team have yet to keep a clean sheet in any of their 10 Champions League games this term. It would have been 2-1 to the visitors before half-time, had Oblak not made a wonder save from a close-range Hugo Vetlesen header.
Atletico emerged revved up from their half-time chat with Simeone, and they were soon in front themselves, when €24m summer signing Johnny Cardoso rammed home a low 20-yarder for his first Atletico goal, and the first in the Champions League of his career.
Simeone’s first substitution came when Alvarez was hooked just before the hour mark, after another disappointing showing from the former Manchester City forward. Griezmann, with his new platinum hair, received a huge cheer from the Atletico fans as he entered the pitch. It was a reception befitting the club’s all-time leading goalscorer with 210 goals (as well as 95 assists) in 481 games across his two spells.
He then showed his nous, intelligence and technical skills by playing a key role in the crucial goal to make it 3-1. When Atletico countered from deep, the 34-year-old was back in his own half to link the play. Moments later, he was up in the Brugge penalty area to feed the ball to fellow substitute Lookman, whose cross was deflected to Sorloth, who took a touch and lashed an unstoppable shot to the net from six yards.
That realistically ended Brugge’s challenge, but the Norway international, once of Crystal Palace, was not finished, ramming home a side-foot volley from eight yards to complete the first hat-trick by an Atletico player in a Champions League knockout game.
Alexander Sorloth has scored five goals in nine Champions League matches this season (Thomas Coex/Getty Images)
At full time, Simeone did not run down the tunnel as usual, staying to soak in the joyous atmosphere, as Griezmann went with his team-mates to celebrate the victory with the ecstatic Atletico supporters.
“I was happy, there is enormous work behind all these results, which are starting to be more positive than negative,” Simeone said afterwards. “Many new players arrived last season, and this season again, and reinventing ourselves is never easy. Today was a big challenge. Winning or losing changed the season, it was a big game, and the team responded well.”
The Argentinian was not wrong. Elimination from the Champions League at this stage would have been a huge disappointment given Atletico have spent over €400m on new players over the last 18 months.
Signs of progress are also required by the club hierarchy, given the ongoing changes behind the scenes at the Metropolitano. American investment fund Apollo Global Management has agreed to become the majority shareholder (although that deal has not been completed), while the club are building an ambitious €800m ‘Sports City’ project on land surrounding the stadium.
There has long been an expectation that Griezmann — a huge NBA and NFL fan — would finish his playing career in the MLS. Although this week’s Orlando news has taken many around Atletico by surprise, and came at a delicate moment in their season.
Sporting director Alemany, who would have more freedom to spend this summer if Griezmann’s big salary was freed up, declined to guarantee that the Frenchman would stay at Atletico when speaking to Movistar TV before Tuesday’s game.
“I’m not going to talk about him, I love him a lot, we’ve spoken about many things, and I told him what I think,” Simeone said of Griezmann afterwards. “I hope he decides what he considers the best, and what he wants, because he deserves to do what he wants to do.”
Diego Simeone soaks up the atmosphere as Atletico reach the last 16 (Pierre-Philippe Marco/Getty Images)
There has also been speculation over Simeone’s place in the club’s long-term project. He will forever be a hero among the fanbase for his achievements as a player and a coach — but their last trophy was the 2020-21 La Liga title.
With Atletico a distant fourth in La Liga, 13 points behind leaders Barcelona, and 12 behind second-placed Real Madrid, cup competitions have been this season’s focus for some time.
Next Tuesday, Simeone’s side go to Barcelona to defend their 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg advantage, so barring disaster, they will have the final against either Real Sociedad or Athletic Club in April.
But the most important competition for Simeone and Griezmann is the Champions League. They have come so close to winning it with Atletico in the past, only to face bitter disappointment (Griezmann missed a penalty in the second half of their 2016 final loss against Real Madrid).
Simeone was asked on Tuesday if qualifying for the competition’s last 16 for the 11th time in the last 13 years meant they had achieved an important objective.
“It’s really important for the club, for its financial strength and global growth, but we want more,” he replied. “We have the strength, energy and talent to go much further.”
Nobody can guarantee how much longer Simeone, let alone Griezmann, has left at Atletico. Two of the team’s worst performances this season came in Champions League defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal in the league phase. But this quickly evolving side should not be written off by either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in their upcoming last-16 tie.