Atletico Madrid invested heavily in their squad over the summer, bringing in Alexander Sorloth, Conor Gallagher and Julian Alvarez, but their most effective so far has been the cheapest of the lot. The addition of Robin Le Normand has dramatically improved Los Rojiblancos defensive record so far.
Their defence struggled last season, but so far Los Rojiblancos have four clean sheets in their six outings in La Liga. Meanwhile while Le Normand has been on the pitch with Jose Maria Gimenez (usually in a back three), Atletico have conceded just once so far against RB Leipzig. With the exception of the German side, they have conceded few chances too, detail Marca.
🇦🇷🗣️ Julián Álvarez: “Rodri [De Paul] loves to talk, tell stories, and share mate. When he sent me messages, it wasn’t always about professional topics, more like, ‘Come on, come over, you’ll have a good time,’ that kind of thing.
Affection moves through connections. So yes,… pic.twitter.com/0cUxc6edn2
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) September 25, 2024
Diego Simeone will be hoping to consolidate his backline with one of Axel Witsel, Cesar Azpilicueta or Reinildo Mandava, although the former Chelsea man will miss the Madrid derby this weekend through injury. One player who has not gotten a look in so far is Javi Galan. The left-back returned from his loan at Real Sociedad where he was a regular starter again, but Diario AS highlight that Galan is yet to see a single minute of action so far.
Galan has Reinildo, Samuel Lino and Rodrigo Riquelme for competition, but it goes to show that Simeone is yet to trust him a year on from his signing. If things continue this way, it seems likely that he will look for the exit he was linked with in the summer this January.
