Champions League: Galatasaray vs Atlético Madrid! Four players out and none in during the winter window, can Atlético's squad handle competing on two fronts?

Today, our first topic isthe Champions League: Galatasaray vs Atlético Madrid!

A few days ago, we talked about Lazio’s potential troubles because their coach publicly criticized the winter transfer signings. When the coach believes the squad is lacking, the team’s fighting strength usually isn’t enough, and in the end, they were indeed overwhelmed by Como.

Atlético Madrid might also be experiencing a similar problem today.

Atlético’s recent win rate looks decent on the surface, but their matches have been quite ugly. In the Copa del Rey, they barely scraped a goal against a Segunda División team through a lucky world-class strike, and in the last game against Alavés, they narrowly avoided being equalized multiple times.

After the match, coach Simeone complained about the lack of squad depth, saying four players left but no one came in.

Is what he said true?

Yes, it is.

Atlético has let go of four players this winter, earning a total of €62 million, but they haven’t signed anyone.

So, is Atlético’s recent poor performance related to this?

Yes, it is.

Atlético is very fragile in some positions; for example, they only have three specialized midfielders and just one dedicated left-back.

The shortage of left-backs directly caused them to draw with Real Sociedad recently.

When Lodi was substituted, there was no professional left-back left, leaving the left flank almost undefended, which allowed the opponent to easily advance and eventually score.

The lack of midfielders means Atlético cannot afford any mishaps.

For instance, in the last match against Alavés, because captain Koke was not in good physical condition, the young substitute midfielder Cardoso had to start, as he was the last professional midfielder available.

With a weak midfield, the whole team showed a severe lack of creativity; against a weaker team like Alavés, their expected goals (xG) was only 0.57 throughout the match, which is very poor.

In fact, the squad issue is relatively minor,Atlético is facing systemic problems.

Originally, they were very determined in the summer transfer window, spending €176 million on signings.

However, these signings failed, making the already heavily indebted Atlético’s situation even worse.

Later, the club was sold to American investors, and the sporting director was replaced by Alemany from Barcelona, leading to significant changes in the club’s direction.

Previously, Atlético’s transfers heavily followed Simeone’s wishes, but now that the Americans are the majority owners and Alemany, who has a different football philosophy, is the sporting director, Simeone’s influence has likely diminished, and it’s uncertain whether he will even stay.

Therefore, it’s quite normal that the winter signings don’t align with Simeone’s preferences.

This season, Atlético seems stable on the surface, but many aspects have clearly declined.

For example, defense – it looks like they concede few goals, right?

Atlético used to be famous for winning 1-0 games, emphasizing that once they took the lead, others couldn’t catch up.

Now, even when they lead, they can’t hold on,having been caught up or overtaken 7 times out of 19 leads, the highest in La Liga.Where is the old ironclad Atlético spirit?

Although Galatasaray hasn’t looked great recently, their top scorer Osimhen returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, having missed the previous six matches.

Defender Jakobs also came back after Senegal won the tournament, strengthening their defense.

This Turkish giant has many former stars like Gündoğan, Sané, and Koke, who bring vast experience from big competitions, as well as players like Osimhen who want to return to the top five leagues. They may not perform well domestically but get very fired up in the Champions League.

Though their domestic form is poor, in the Champions League, they might be a different story.

Given Atlético’s internal instability, this away match will likely be tough for them.

So, can Galatasaray satisfy their fans? What do you think? We hope they at least avoid defeat!

Alright, for today’s other matches, I will still share my written insights tonight. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. “Watch football and understand it,” see you there!

If you like it, please tap to follow and like!