Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid: Fierce collision and tactical game in La Liga

In the bright starry sky of La Liga, every round of events carries the team's dreams and the expectations of fans. When Espanyol welcomes Atletico Madrid at home, this showdown is not just a contest between the two teams, but also a collision of different tactical concepts and team strength, which will inevitably cause trouble in the La Liga.

Espanyol: Home stick and tactical adjustment

Espanyol showed a good state in the preseason, and the unbeaten record of 5 wins and 2 draws made the team's morale high. Among them, the draw of Newcastle and the penalty of Girona fully proved their resilience when facing strong enemies. When they returned to the league home court, they were even more confident. They only lost 2 home games in the last 13 leagues, and 71% of their points came from this, and their home advantage became their strong support.

From the lineup, Espanyol has new player Roberto Fernandez on the offensive end. He has excellent passes and shots in the preseason and demonstrated strong personal abilities. The "one high and one fast" front combination formed with veteran Kirk Garcia is extremely threatening. Fernandez's flexible running can create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates; Garcia's rich experience and sense of smell in front of the goal should not be underestimated.

On the defensive end, goalkeeper Dimitrovic is the team's last line of defense. He has excellent high-altitude ball control ability and can ensure the goal is not lost at critical moments. But his weakness of turning slightly slower may become the focus of Atletico Madrid winger group. On the back line, Espanyol has a 187cm tall Cabrera with a header success rate of up to 78%, which will play an important role in both set-piece defense and offense. In the midfield, the double midfielder formed by Melendo and Gragra can average 4.7 steals per game. They will build a solid interception wall in the midfield to stop Atletico Madrid's offensive advancement.

Tactically, coach Manolo Gonzalez is very likely to use a 5-4-1 deep strangle formation. The core of this formation is retreat and set-piece tactics. Last season, 35% of the team's goals came from counterattacks and set pieces. When defending, the configuration of the five defenders can greatly compress the penalty area space, the wingbacks reduce offensive participation, focus on defense, ranking third in La Liga with 11.2 interceptions per game. Their defensive strategy is very clear, and they put the wing and lock the middle, allowing Atletico Madrid to cross, but they have arranged heavy defense in the penalty area, and averaging 16.7 clearances per game is the best interpretation of this tactic. However, the team has hidden worries about breaking high pressure. When facing Al Ain in the warm-up game, the ball possession rate was only 38%, and the turnover rate was as high as 28%. Once Atletico Madrid adopts a high-pressure pressing tactic, whether Espanyol can effectively run the ball is a major highlight of the game.

Atletic Madrid: Paper strength and tactical challenges

Atletic Madrid As a traditional giant in La Liga, the total value of the team exceeds 600 million euros, which is more than 8 times that of the Spaniard. However, the team is currently facing many difficulties. At the end of last season, they had only 2 wins in seven away games and had only one goal difference of more than one goal, and the problem of weak away games seriously affected the team's performance.

This summer, Atletico Madrid has experienced turbulence in the lineup. Core players such as DePaul and Lino have left the team, and it will take some time for new players to run in. What's worse is that Jimenez, the core of the defense line, is absent due to injury, which is undoubtedly a worse injury to the defense line that the team already needs to adjust. Simeone's steel defense line is facing a huge test of reconstruction. On the offensive end, Julian Alvarez scored two goals in the game against Newcastle, showing his super strong running and shooting skills. His keen sense of smell in the penalty area can capture scoring opportunities at any time. The new nuclear Almada in the midfield has a pass success rate of up to 91%, and he and Baenna will assume the heavy responsibility of organizing the offense and delivering shells to forward players. However, with Jimenez's injury, the team's three-center-back system's air defense capabilities have declined significantly, and there are also questions about the tacit understanding between the substitute central-back combinations.

Simone's team is expected to adopt a 3-5-2 control formation. Wingbacks, like Llorente, are averaging 25 sprints per game, and their aggressive forwards can create offensive width for the team. However, in the preseason, Atletico Madrid exposed two fatal problems: one is that the conversion rate of sports wars is only 19%, and the offensive efficiency needs to be improved urgently; the other is that the new defense line is slow to turn, and when facing Porto's counterattack, it was broken through the defense line by the opponent twice. If Espanyol's midfielder Exposito successfully locks Almada and cuts off the connection between the midfield and the front line, Atletico Madrid's offense is likely to be paralyzed.

Key points of the competition

Battle between the kings: Can Roberto Fernandez's 6.2 million euros be reflected in this game? His agile interspersed running and the turning speed of Atletico Madrid new central defender Rugeri will become a major focus of the game. If Fernandez can use speed and running to tear the Atletico defensive line, then Espanyol will get more opportunities on the offensive end.

Set Football Battle: Espanyol's Cabrera has a 78% success rate, and Atletico Madrid also has outstanding strength in setting-piece offense. Trippier, one of the best set-up players in the Premier League, took corner kicks and free kicks that he took were extremely threatening. The performance of both sides in set pieces is very likely to determine the direction of the game. Is it whether Espanyol uses its excellent defense to resist Atletico Madrid's set-piece offense, or whether Atletico Madrid uses set-pieces to break Espanyol's defense line, which is worth looking forward to.

Midfield Control: The Espanyol midfield interception net led by Exposito, the contest between the creativity of Atletico, led by Almada, will determine the rhythm of the game. If Espanyol can successfully steal in the midfield and launch a counterattack quickly, then they have a chance to disrupt Atletico Madrid's defensive rhythm; on the contrary, if Atletico Madrid's midfield can firmly control the ball and tear open the Espanyol's defense line through precise passes, they will take the initiative in the game..

Psychological Game: Espanyol has a 13-game unbeaten gold body, while Atletico Madrid is labeled as a "way bug". This psychological factor will play a crucial role in the competition. Whether Espanyol can take advantage of home court advantages to continue the unbeaten record; whether Atletico Madrid can overcome psychological obstacles in the away game and break the curse will all become a key variable in the game.

In this match between Espanyol and Atletico Madrid, although Atletico Madrid has the advantage in paper strength, Espanyol's home resilience and tactical targeting make the game full of uncertainty. Let's wait and see whether Espanyol creates a miracle at home or Atletico Madrid's counterattack away. Regardless of the result of the game, this first round of La Liga match will kick off the new season's La Liga.