The 5 best Atletico Madrid games under Diego Simeone

Atletico Madrid's Argentinian coach Diego Simeone looks on before the Spanish League football match between Leganes and Atletico Madrid at the Butarque stadium in Leganes, southwest of Madrid, on August 25, 2019. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP) (Photo credit should read BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP via Getty Images) /

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MADRID, SPAIN – APRIL 13: Head coach of Atletico Madrid Diego Simeone reacts during the UEFA Champions League quarter final second leg match between Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona at Vicente Calderon stadium on April 13, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) /

4. Atletico Madrid 2-0 Barcelona – 2015-16 Champions League Quarterfinal, second leg

The Messi, Suarez and Neymar (MSN) trio were near unstoppable. In their first season together, they led Barca to a treble and were bound to complete another in the 2015-16 campaign — a feat which no team has ever come close to pulling off.

But Barca’s hopes at back-to-back treble-winning seasons were shattered by Atletico Madrid. After a 2-1 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League Quarterfinal, Simeone willed his side to a 2-0 return leg win and 3-2 aggregate victory to advance to the Champions League semis for the second time in three seasons.

The upset was monumental as Atletico eliminated a Barca team that were touted as even more prolific in attack than in their treble-winning season. This is a team that had scored at least three goals in 20 fixtures coming into the second leg. But they were no match for what turned out to be one of Simeone’s finest tactical defensive performances.

As expected, Atletico conceded possession to Barcelona. The Blaugrana recorded 78 percent of possession and relied on their world-class trio upfront to generate any kind of offense. Barca spent much of their time in Atletico’s defensive third but were not finding much success in penetrating into open gaps against Atletico’s deep defensive line.

The brilliant defensive performance from Atletico relied on limiting the on-ball activity from Messi, Suarez and Neymar. The trio combined for three shots on target and 10 touches in the box. Diego Godin and Lucas Hernandez simply did not let up in their defensive presence for the entirety of the game. Los Rojiblancos held Barca to a mere four total shots on target.

While Antoine Griezmann earned recognition for his double, praise should be given to the eight players — including Gabi and Saul Niguez — that dropped deep and helped congest any potential available space for Barca.

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