Atletico Madrid Still in the Game Behind Barcelona and Real Madrid

March 17,2025 : Over the course of four nights, Atletico Madrid suffered two of the most heart-wrenching  losses in recent history. Initially, there was a stunning collapse against Real Madrid that resultedin their Champions League elimination. A few days later, they  suffered another heartbreaking loss, but this time it was against Barcelona in La Liga.

However, in the midst of disappointment and chaos, Diego Simeone, Atletico’s veteran manager, was surprisingly   surprisingly composed.

For someone who has been in charge for 14 hot years at Atletico Madrid, heartbreak is not foreign to him. Even by his norms, this week was rather unforgiving. Still, no outburst, no blaming fate, no moaning. Simeone’s post-game reaction to the 2-3 defeat by Barcelona was matter-of-fact and detached.

“It’s not due to luck. It occurs due to forcefulness,” Simeone explained about how Atletico lost their advantage. “We played better in the first half and then they discovered that 2-1 in a flash, then the 2-2, then the 2-3. But it is not luck. If Lamine does not shoot, the third goal is not scored. I would not say luck.”

Against Barcelona, Atletico had begun brightly, dominating much of the early momentum of the game. But the second period was a different affair, as Barcelona took advantage of key moments and Atletico’s defense collapsed.

The frustration only deepened after their midweek loss to Real Madrid, a game in which Atletico blew a two-goal advantage, conceding twice in stoppage time to lose 2-4. The defining blow came in the 93rd minute, when Lamine Yamal’s long-range shot, deflected cruelly, found its way past the goalkeeper.

For most, two losses to their arch-nemesis within the space of a week would incense outrage. But not Simeone. No bad luck, no injustice was mentioned, only a grim acceptance of where his side went wrong.

Rather than fury, he looked numb — perhaps stunned — at how out of character his side collapsed. Atletico’s renowned defensive stoicism crumbled, and the side looked unrecognizable in those fateful last few minutes.

This was a week that pushed the mettle of the manager and his players. But if Simeone’s record is anything to go by, it’s that he feeds on adversity. His stoic acceptance is maybe a message to his team: it’s not the failures, but the reaction that is important.

One thing is for sure — Atletico Madrid might have fallen down, but under Diego Simeone, they will never fail to rise again.