Takeaways: Griezmann denied cup fairytale as Atlético suffer upset loss

Real Sociedad beat Atlético de Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, 2-2 after extra time and 4-3 on penalties. The result brings Atleti supporters all the way back down to earth after a midweek win over FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League — having eliminated that club from the King’s Cup at the start of March.

The result is more than fair. Atleti made mistakes, did not convince in attack and did not defend well at all. All the credit needs to go to Real Sociedad and American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo, who has completed a marvelous turnaround at a club that was staring relegation right in the face earlier this year. Matarazzo becomes the first American manager to lead a team to a major trophy in one of Europe’s top five football leagues.

Simeone’s men were stunned from the start following the quickest goal in Copa del Rey final history. Matteo Ruggeri and Robin Le Normand should have defended better, and Juan Musso’s goalkeeping could have been stronger, but this put Atleti in a tough position very early. Atleti pushed as hard as they could for 18 minutes after and were awarded for their efforts with a great goal from Ademola Lookman. As the first half came to a close, Musso made a more egregious mistake this time while trying to punch the ball away from Gonçalo Guedes, and Real Sociedad were awarded a penalty that Mikel Oyarzabal converted.

The start of the second half was filled with frustration for the Rojiblancos. La Real defended brilliantly despite Atlético’s domination in possession, which only paid off when Julián Alvarez scored an outrageous left-footed goal to equalize in the 83rd minute. In the dying moments of the second half, Álex Baena and Johnny Cardoso both missed massive chances that would have been the game-winners.

In extra time, Musso made up for his earlier blunders with a heroic save to deny Orri Óskarsson a potential winner. Alvarez came inches away from scoring the winner with a vicious shot from outside the box that hit the post. Both teams seemed to accept what was coming next, as an already dramatic match got even spicier going to penalty kicks.

In the penalty shootout, Atleti’s dreams turned to nightmares, as Alvarez and Alexander Sørloth both missed their attempts. Musso made the lone save on Óskarsson’s attempt before Nico Gonzalez, Thiago Almada and Baena made the next three. Pablo Marín stepped up and scored the winner as Real Sociedad claimed their fourth Copa del Rey trophy.

Let’s jump into some takeaways from the heartbreaking loss.

The trophy drought continues

Atlético de Madrid have not won a major trophy since the club since the famous LALIGA victory of 2020/21, and Atlético have not won the Copa del Rey since 2013. This was their best shot at winning one since, and they blew it.

Outside of winning a trophy and breaking a long-standing streak, this was supposed to be a game to generate momentum ahead of a critical tie against Arsenal. Simeone will need to get his squad to quickly lock back in. I can’t help but think back to those few weeks in March last season, where all hopes at a trophy were gone in the span of a month following the controversial Champions League match against Real Madrid and consecutive domestic losses to Barcelona.

The stat coming out of the match that hurts the most is in 10 seasons with Atlético Madrid, Antoine Griezmann will leave at the end of the season never having won a major domestic title with the club.

Being puro Atlético Madrid is not about winning trophies. It never has and never will be for those that truly bleed and red and suffer every match with the club. However, if Atleti fail to defy the odds and win the Champions League, the trophy drought will continue into another season.

Given how the club is evolving, with Apollo Sports Capital taking over majority ownership amid larger transfer outlays in the past couple of years, expectations with Simeone are higher and higher each season. A Copa del Rey trophy would’ve taken immense loads of stress off Simeone. Warranted or not, if the Champions League doesn’t go Atleti’s way, another trophy-less season will have Simeone’s seat a little warmer than he’d prefer.

Alvarez and Lookman had big nights — again

Prior to his questionable substitution in the second half, Ademola Lookman was causing Real Sociedad all sorts of problems. The Nigerian was by far Atleti’s best player on the night and continues to cement his place as one of the best winter signing…ever.

Following Lookman’s exit, the attack ran solely through Julián Alvarez. Matarazzo’s low block gave Atleti serious issues the entire night as Simeone’s attack could not seem to break through the entire second half. But Alvarez worked like a madman to try to create space.

When all hope seemed lost, Alvarez was able to break through in the 83rd minute and rip a left-footed shot past Unai Marrero in the txuri-urdin goal. Alvarez then almost willed the club to victory himself in extra time when he hit the crossbar.

Missed penalty aside, you could tell how distraught La Araña was post-match when he was left with tears in his eyes. You have to feel for him; he tried practically everything.

Unresolved issues plague Atleti

The match will show that Atleti lost in penalties, but the match was lost long before the penalty shootout even begun.

The main critiques of this season have been:

• Simeone’s substitution strategy, which sometimes veers into the bizarre
• A stale attacking structure that does not break down low blocks
• Surreal individual mistakes in defense

What do all three of those have in common? They all happened tonight.

A huge problem for Simeone in recent years has been how he makes his substitutions. Nico was brought on for Lookman and was being used as a left wing-back, a position he has notoriously struggled in during his short tenure in Madrid. Surely Simeone didn’t forget the absolute stinker Nico put in against Barcelona in the league two weeks ago while playing that role.

Related to this are Simeone’s “reactive” substitutions. It was evident that the Lookman swap did not quickly move the team up a gear, and Simeone reacted to sub on Almada for Griezmann just 10 minutes later.

Regardless, Atleti dominated the second half as far as possession was concerned, yet the Colchoneros were not able to generate any real chances until Alvarez scored his goal.

And it remains glaringly obvious that there has not been a serious investment in the defense from the club. This became evident in the midweek Champions League match, where Clément Lenglet was forced to start and play the entire 90 minutes, but the weakness reasserted itself Saturday when Gonçalo Guedes and Ander Barrentxea took advantage of a lax back four to open the scoring only 14 seconds into the final.

Putting a positive spin on things

Admittedly, this was a difficult article to complete. I’m heartbroken and I’m sure you are too. As a Griezmann fan, seeing him not hoist a single domestic trophy with the club really hurts.

The Champions League first leg against Arsenal is in 10 days. Although it feels like the season is over, it’s not. Atleti have every opportunity available to advance over Arsenal and make their first Champions League final in 10 years.

Pablo Barrios, Dávid Hancko, Johnny Cardoso and Jan Oblak all will be back for the first leg against Arsenal. Those four have been absent, to varying degrees, for Atleti’s run through the Copa del Rey and the Champions League; they all could start at the Metropolitano in 10 days.

Barrios and Cardoso coming back takes so much pressure off Llorente and Koke. Llorente can shift to right-back and eliminate the need for the wildly-inconsistent Molina to keep his place.

Hancko’s return, and his partnership with Marc Pubill, gives stability to a shaky Atleti defense. Additionally, the Slovakian negates the need to rely on Lenglet, Josema Giménez or Robin Le Normand in the biggest games. Though Le Normand was a commanding presence against Barça, I remain convinced that Simeone doesn’t completely trust him in marquee fixtures.

Finally, Musso deserves praise and his flowers for his performances in Copa del Rey and the Champions League during Oblak’s stint on the sidelines. However, Oblak is a top-five keeper in the world when healthy. The final should end the debate about Atlético’s goalkeeping.

On the other side of the tie, Arsenal are going to be fighting for their life in the Premier League with Manchester City right on their heels. Meanwhile, Atleti’s focus will be 100 percent locked on the Champions League. The season’s not over and the club has, arguably their biggest match of the decade coming up on April 29.

So take tonight and Sunday, if necessary, to grieve and be sad. Order a pizza, crush a pint of ice cream or drown your sorrows in your favorite bottle of wine. The club, players and manager will all need your support on the 29th against Arsenal.

This one hurts, but Atlético and Simeone will be back in this final. And when they are, it’ll be ever so sweet.