Atlético Madrid 20/21 under Simeone - a thread;
(RTs appreciated)

The start of last season Cholo Simeone along with the board made key changes to the squad including offloading three big names in Griezmann, Godin and Juanfran as part of the beginning of their transition phase.

With club captain Gabi having left the club the previous season, the core that oversaw the successful decade was gone. The new guard in Lemar, Joao Felix, Hermoso, Felipe, Jimenez, Oblak was due to take over now.
Last season Simeone wanted to play a different brand of football.

A style that excited and the change was palpable. But the season did not turn out the way he would have hoped. They struggled through this transition both offensively and defensively. But in mere one season, Atletico Madrid have turned the corner.

Now they aren't only sitting top of the table but touted as favourites to win the league this season. This smooth transition is much to the credit of Diego Simeone, who for all his dirty ways, is certainly a brilliant manager. He has proven it over the years since he joined.

Carrasco has completely reinvented himself. Lemar too has turned his career around and looks promising this season. Felix, dubbed as a flop last season has been instrumental this time around. And what the hell happened to Llorente? He has been turned into a beast by Cholo.

This season Atletico have had to rely on a 21-year-old kid, Chinese binned winger, Barcelona's outcast and a Real Madrid reject for goals and creativity. On paper, these four players have no business balling in the league but they are doing it, and frankly doing it very well.

They have not lost touch with their roots either. The win against Getafe is testament to that. They are defensively as solid as ever, conceding only 6 goals in 15 matches so far.
A lot of credit goes to Simeone who has managed with a squad which isn't world-class on paper.

Even with many injuries, they seemed to get results. No Gimenez? No problem. No Trippier? No issues. No Striker available? No worries. Their performance against Sociedad and then Getafe was when I realised they aren't just fooling around this year, they mean business.

They can outplay opponents, they can bully their opponents, they can scrape victories. Whatever needed to get the three points they do it. With Barca losing ground Real should've been taking over & dominating the league alone, but the noisy neighbours are making genuine noise now