Amidst rumours linking most of our stars with transfers away from the Vicente Calderón, David Villa was surprisingly the first to announce his departure. On Sunday the Asturian announced in a video on the club’s YouTube channel that he’s leaving Atlético Madrid to join New York City in the MLS.
Score, and hang on for dear life! This has apparently been Atlético’s game plan in their last three home games, all of which they have won by the same 1-0 margin. After getting off to a great start against Villarreal on Saturday, opening up the scoring within the first 15 minutes of action, los Rojiblancos spent most of their time warding off the Yellow Submarine.
15 home games into the present La Liga campaign, and Atlético remain unvanquished at the Vicente Calderón. Espanyol, the latest visitors to ‘Cholo Castle’, certainly put up a fight, but los Rojiblancos were able to gut out the result for their third straight triumph in all competitions.
After over an hour of mostly dispirited play by Atlético in Vigo, the men in and red and white sparked back to life to abruptly terminate their foes 2-0. The game against Celta started off eerily similar to Atleti’s previous two trips in league play–the squad looked all too comfortable letting their opponents dictate play while hardly offering much of a threat in attack of their own.
In one of the most enchanting nights at the Vicente Calderón in recent memory, Atlético soared to the top of the league table for the first time in 18 years by handily defeating Real Sociedad 4-0. Los Colchoneros honoured the glory days of their past by paying tribute to a fallen idol who fully embodied the spirit of the club’s halcyon days.
Atlético capped off the best year in club history with yet another triumph at the unconquerable Vicente Calderón, though this 3-2 win came after a vigorously-contested battle against Levante. If ever there was a match to exemplify the era of ‘Cholo’, Sunday night’s was not it. Well, at least, not the beginning of it.
Atlético pounded Getafe into submission on Saturday with a performance that bordered on downright cruelty. The 7-0 annihilation was the worst loss in los Azulones‘ history. The scoreboard also happened to mirror Atleti’s record at ‘Cholo Castle’ this season, with Simeone’s men picking up their seventh home win on the trot.
Atlético soundly defeated Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, shutting out their Basque foes 2-0 for their sixth straight win at the Vicente Calderón. Defended by 52,000 strong for this ‘Fan Club Day’ encounter, ‘Cholo Castle’ remains unconquered in the 2013/14 campaign.
They say winning games when you don’t play well is the mark of a true champion, and that can certainly be said about Atlético Madrid’s 2-1 win against Granada last night. On a far from ideal playing surface at Los Cármenes, where passes went astray, attacks repeatedly broke down and several balls were lost, Diego Simeone’s team still managed to grind out three points and move back within a point of Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
There was no let up in Atlético’s 5-0 thrashing of Real Betis at the Vicente Calderón on Sunday night. Literally from start to finish, the struggling Verdiblancos found themselves picking the ball out of their own net. The Rojiblanco faithful were treated to a delightful spectacle that began with the fastest goal in club history scored by Óliver Torres–the player that sparked the most pre-game buzz given his inclusion in the starting line-up in replacement of the ailing Arda Turan.