Atletico Madrid Season in Review: It all happened so quickly | OneFootball

With the European season officially at an end, Football España will be reviewing each and every one of the La Liga sides and how they fared this season.

Results:

La Liga: 3rd

Copa del Rey: Semi-finals

Champions League: Round of 16

Top Goalscorer: Julian Alvarez – 29 goals

Top Assister: Rodrigo de Paul – 10 assists

Season Summary

How to summarise a season that had so many different sensations. After finishing behind Girona last year, Atletico Madrid bought hope in the form of nearly €200m in investment. World Cup-winner Julian Alvarez, Euro 2024-winner Robin Le Normand, Pichichi runner-up Alexander Sorloth and Euro 2024 runner-up Conor Gallagher all sounded pretty good. Losing 4-0 to Benfica is one way to temper that optimism, and a 1-0 loss away to Real Betis had Diego Simeone holding a dressing room crisis talk.

One that worked. Debates about Simeone’s cycle evaporated with every stoppage time winner – there were 16 in their opening 39 games of the season, and they proved the only top side (apologies Leganes/Las Palmas) that could go punch for punch with Barcelona, coming into 2025 as real title contenders. Those wins away to Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona spoke of a backbone that reminded of the great Atleticos of the previous decade.

Image via MixCollage

And along came March. In the space of a few short weeks, Atletico Madrid played Barcelona twice, Real Madrid twice, Getafe and Espanyol, and the only win was a 1-0 that saw them exit the Champions League on penalties. It was a Zeppelin-style deflation, and one that Atletico couldn’t recover from in April and May. What hurt most was that in every one of those games, save one, they were at some point ahead. The defence couldn’t hold up, and at the other end, Julian Alvarez’s contributions replaced the ones from Antoine Griezmann rather than complemented them.

Verdict: B-

Swithering between a C+ and B, Simeone’s side did make progress this season. They were closer in level to Real Madrid and Barcelona, and they have a new franchise star. Third-place is where they have to finish, and ultimately they did challenge the big two. Julian Alvarez looked the superstar they signed him to be, and Rodrigo de Paul was at his best for large swathes of the season.

All the same, their collapse was… Difficult to rationalise completely, and a source of great indigestion at the Metropolitano. Barcelona and Real Madrid were 5-10 points weaker this season, and Los Blancos were there for the taking in the Champions League, even if they were unfortunate. In the Copa del Rey, Los Colchoneros were two goals up on Barcelona, and again in the Liga clash at the Metropolitano, but conceded four times in 20 minutes. Granted, Barcelona were very good, but losing points against Getafe, Espanyol and Las Palmas ultimately cost them a chance to put pressure on Barcelona in the final games of the season. Progress, as noted, but not without a few steps back either.

Image via EFE

Player of the Season: Julian Alvarez

You hate to be cliche, but the superstar signing was the best of the bunch. His contributions against Barcelona in La Liga and Real Madrid in the Champions League were clutch, and while in La Liga his goals total was a surprisingly low 17, overall he had by far and away the most goal contributions.

In those big fixtures, so often Alvarez was the one dragging the team forward, showing as much grit as quality – which is not to undermine the quantity of the latter. The Metropolitano has fallen in love with Alvarez, and as heroes go, Alvarez is the most romantic in the Atletico team.

Pleasant Surprise of the Season: Giuliano Simeone

If expectations were high when Atletico Madrid spent €75m on Julian Alvarez, expectations were the opposite when Giuliano Simeone returned from his loan spell at Alaves, after missing most of the season through injury. Even Diego Simeone admitted his son had surprised him.

Giuliano provided drive and impetus, stretching the pitch and shoring up the side defensively. Some of Atletico’s best spells coincided with that of the younger Simeone, and he embodied his father on the pitch, which is no small feat.

Giuliano Simeone and Julian Alvarez: Difference-makers this season. Image via Atletimania.

If only we could have had a bit more from: Antoine Griezmann

It was not Antoine Griezmann’s finest campaign, although it is worth pointing out for those short on memory, that until 2025 he was still excellent. Nevertheless, this may be the season that Griezmann leaves the starting XI for good. His relative absence from goalscoring production was rather conspicuous, especially compared with Sorloth in the final stages of the season.

Knocking Griezmann after his late 2022 to 2024 fun sounds blasphemous, but after so long without the necessary disciples, it grates a little that he couldn’t rise again at the crucial stage of this season. An intriguing campaign ahead after his contract renewal.

On the horizon, you see…

As we have been at pains to note, despite the late issues, this Atletico team looked as good as it has in a very long time. In Alvarez there is hope, in Barrios plenty of future and if you shake Sorloth, goals come out of him. Every transfer window of late seems to present glaring needs for Atletico though, and their record of filling them isn’t exemplary.

If they can bring in the likes of Alex Baena, Cristian Romero and Johnny Cardoso, Simeone will be close to be able to field a full starting XI without question marks hanging over the pitch. If. Then it all has to come together. Los Rojiblancos had one of the best defences in Spain this season, but Simeone felt required to sacrifice some of his firepower for extra cover, which left them on the back foot in the final stages. Being able to defend without catering for obvious weaknesses would represent further progress.

Finding that balance is the key to the pot of gold/trophies, but they begin next season all but assured third, and heading forward compared to last season.