The top unpredictable team in the big five leagues, scoring 4 goals in one half to crush Barcelona, but also capable of losing 0-3 to Rayo Vallecano.

At 23:15 Beijing time on February 15, in the 24th round of La Liga, Atletico Madrid, fresh from a 4-goal first-half demolition of Barcelona in the King’s Cup semifinal first leg, played away against Rayo Vallecano.

During the first half, Atletico conceded two goals near the end, scored by Ferran Perez and Oscar Valentin, putting them 0-2 behind at halftime; in the second half, Nobel Mendy scored once more.

Ultimately, Atletico Madrid lost 0-3 away to Rayo Vallecano, suffering back-to-back defeats in La Liga, going four matches without a win, and dropping to fourth place after being overtaken on goal difference; Rayo Vallecano ended a four-match losing streak in all competitions and successfully escaped the relegation zone.

In the Rayo Vallecano vs Atletico match, Perez deployed a 4-1-4-1 formation with a starting lineup valued at €66.6 million;Simeone set up a 4-5-1 formation, with Cerlot upfront, Gonzalez, Baena, Cardoso, Mendoza, and Almada forming the five midfielders, Ruggeri, Lenglet, Gimenez, and Molina as the back four, Oblak in goal, and a starting lineup worth €223 million..

Atletico truly is the most unpredictable team in the big five leagues: capable of a 5-2 thrashing of Real Madrid, a 4-0 sweep of Barcelona, yet also a 0-3 defeat to relegation-threatened Rayo Vallecano. Atletico did rotate players for this match, but losing by such a large margin to a relegation candidate is hard to justify. Fans joked that Simeone might not care who they lose to, as long as they save energy to beat Real Madrid and Barcelona; winning against those two secures his coaching position. Atletico’s main goals this season are to win the King’s Cup and secure a top-four finish in La Liga to qualify for the Champions League, which would be a complete success.

From a personal perspective, Simeone’s strategy is not wrong, but with Atletico like this, it will be difficult to attract top stars in the future, as Simeone’s team is conservative and lacks a hunger for glory.

Atletico’s loss was deserved! Throughout the match,Atletico held 59% possession, had 9 shots with 4 on target; meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano had 13 shots with 9 on target, surpassing Atletico in both total shots and shots on goal.