Photo by Mateo Villalba/Getty Images Riquelme’s second season back home at Atlético has not been as productive as his first. A new report in Marca states that Atlético Madrid are not contemplating the loan or sale of Rodrigo Riquelme, despite the player’s struggle for minutes and his poor form — which has prompted unfortunate abuse on social media. The Madrid daily reports that Atlético continue to consider Riquelme, 24, a “foundational player” for the future, even though his 629 minutes are the third-fewest among the squad’s outfield players. Riquelme’s humility has made him popular in the dr ..read more

Photo by Manu Reino/DeFodi Images via Getty Images Atlético’s coach spoke after the victory in the Champions League Diego Simeone spoke to the press following the UEFA Champions League victory over ŠK Slovan Bratislava, a 3-1 win against coach Vladimir Weiss and his players, with the rival reflecting post-match that “Atlético Madrid has a great team with a great player in Griezmann, they deserve to win the Champions League”. That led to questions for Atleti coach Simeone, pushing him on whether he believes the title could be a possibility this year. “Dreaming big means dreaming about the next ..read more

Photo by Mateo Villalba/Getty Images Atlético’s winning streak has reached double digits. Atlético Madrid recorded a 10th straight victory, beating Slovakian giants Slovan Bratislava 3-1 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Wednesday night. A first-half belter from Julián Álvarez and an Antoine Griezmann brace either side of half-time gives Los Colchoneros an all-but-confirmed place in the Champions League playoff places with a top-eight finish very much in view. Atlético never had to leave third gear, with midfielders Rodrigo De Paul, Pablo Barrios and Koke (in the second half) demonstrating a ..read more

Photo by Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images A 10-game winning streak is 90 minutes away. Atlético de Madrid and Slovakian giants Slovan Bratislava will meet Wednesday night for the first time ever, as Atlético eye a 10th consecutive win in all competitions. It has been nine years since Atlético Madrid notched nine wins in a row; only once before under Diego Simeone have Atlético racked up a double-digit winning streak. Los Colchoneros now have the chance to do it again after a stirring comeback win over Sevilla on Sunday; defeating Slovan would further consolidate Atleti’s place in th ..read more

Photo by Alberto Gardin/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images The Atlético Madrid coach spoke ahead of the game against ŠK Slovan Bratislava Donning an uncharacteristic blue suit and white shirt, Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone spoke to the media on Tuesday evening ahead of the UEFA Champions League tie against ŠK Slavan Bratislava. When asked about the distribution of game time across the squad and his rotation policy, Simeone sent a clear message to his players. “If we go to the amount of minutes, except for Lemar, most of them have had a good amount of minutes,” he responded. “I invite the ..read more

Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images Atlético rallied from two goals down to secure a massive win. Oblak Couldn’t do a whole lot on Dodi Lukébakio’s 12th-minute equalizer, a rocket from the edge of the Atlético Madrid box after poor defending from a Sevilla set piece. Let down by his defense again as Sevilla took the lead on 32 minutes, as Isaac Romero blew past José Giménez to score a crisp goal — though Oblak did get a hand to the shot and could have saved it with better positioning. Juanlu’s 57th-minute goal came from another defensive breakdown, with Javi Galán failing to track the winger’s r ..read more

Photo by Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images The stats reflect a man getting better with age For the fourth game in a row, Antoine Griezmann got himself on the scoresheet as the hero to win the game for Atlético Madrid against Sevilla. With the ball slid through into the box deep into injury time and 3-3 on the scoreboard, he gambled to make the move and throw his foot at the ball and send it flying into the roof of the net. This was no easy finish by any means, but Griezmann made it look simple. The Frenchman is no stranger to being a hero for Atlético Madrid. Applauded by Real Vallad ..read more

Clément Lenglet is set to face his former team. | Photo by Cesar Ortiz Gonzalez/Soccrates/Getty Images Saúl returns to the Metropolitano as Atlético push for a ninth successive win. Atlético de Madrid welcome Saúl Ñíguez and Sevilla to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Sunday night as Los Colchoneros aim to stay within touching distance of league leaders Barcelona. Third-place Atlético Madrid (9-5-1, 32 points) enter this match on an eight-game winning streak across all competitions, with four of those victories coming in LaLiga. As Barcelona dropped points at Real Betis on Saturday, Atlético no ..read more

IG/@rodridepaul Atlético emerged victorious in Extremadura, but fourth-tier Cacereño gave it everything. A straightforward cup game? Come on, not around these parts. A month after needing goals in the 80th minute and the 92nd minute to defeat sixth-tier UE Vic, Atlético Madrid fell behind a determined Cacereño on Thursday night and trailed for nearly an hour, the goals finally coming at the end: the 83rd minute, the 92nd minute, and the 96th minute, to complete a 3-1 comeback win and advance to the Copa del Rey round of 32. Granted, it was a tough cup round for Primera sides. Villarreal lost t ..read more

IG/@juliaanalvarez Atlético have won eight in a row with contributions from unheralded players. Just how fast the night changes. A little over a month ago, Atletico de Madrid were 10 points adrift of FC Barcelona in LaLiga and placed 27th in the Champions League with a shocking goal difference of minus-5. I had deemed them to be practically out of the running in the league but fast forward to now, and Atlético are five points behind the Catalan outfit with a game in hand and in Europe, they sit in 15th ahead of the likes of AC Milan, Manchester City, Juventus, PSG and even Real Madrid — not to ..read more