The critics were throwing their hands up in the air when Diego Simeone, and those closest to him, refused to celebrate the LaLiga Santander title in November. They were settling their scores with every weekend that Atletico Madrid extended the gap between themselves at the top - a rarity - and the weak Real Madrid and Barcelona, which was equally surprising.
The critics were cursing under their breath every time El Cholo sat down for the new, distant and cold normality of a Zoom press conference and stated that he was only thinking about the next game. Not even the fact that this had been his mantra for almost a decade shielded him from being attacked for a virtue that is hard to come by in these strange times - caution.
The last three weeks have proved right the man that knows this team the best. The Argentine was certain that he has various players that, if they're not in the right kind of form, can see their levels drop like they did, dropping seven points from 12 ahead of the win over Villarreal. Koke, Joao Felix and Luis Suarez - particularly the Portuguese - had dropped off of late.
Do we have a title race? Yes, like we did in November. Atletico will fight until the end, of course. They could lose out to their eternal rivals in the derby, but it shows that nothing is won just yet... despite those critics who want to declare it's over when it's more alive than ever. This is why Simeone goes game by game.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com