Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has shouldered the blame for his team’s recent struggles on the road after a disappointing 2-0 loss to Osasuna on Thursday. The defeat marked Atletico’s fifth winless away game in their last six LaLiga matches, with the team failing to find the back of the net in their last three outings.
Despite already securing a spot in next season’s Champions League, Atletico are still fighting to secure third place in the league table. Athletic Bilbao are hot on their heels, just three points behind after a 2-0 victory over Getafe on the same day.
Simeone admitted to reporters after the match, “I think we played better today than we did against Alaves and Las Palmas, but it’s clear that as a coach, I haven’t been able to motivate the players to perform at their best away from home. I take full responsibility for that.”
Atletico struggled to break down Osasuna’s defense, with goals from Alejandro Catena and Ante Budimir sealing the victory for the home side. Despite matching Osasuna’s shot count and winning the expected goals battle, Atletico failed to capitalize on their opportunities, with Alexander Sorloth missing four chances with a total expected goals value of 0.9.
Simeone lamented the missed chances, saying, “It was clear from the start that we had chances to take the lead but we didn’t. They capitalized on a set-piece and then scored from their height advantage. We controlled the game in the second half but failed to create any clear-cut chances like we did in the first.”
With Budimir’s goal proving to be the difference, Atletico now find themselves stuck with another disappointing away result.
