Would a Runners-Up Finish Change The Fate of Atleti in 2022/23?
Runners Up? Would it Change Anything?
Real Madrid is beyond disinterested when it comes to the ongoing edition of La Liga. The fierce rivals of Atleti had to focus their minds and energy on what was probably the toughest game for any club in the ongoing edition of the Champions League.
The preparation for a UCL final would probably make things worse, meaning Atleti could fight for the runners-up spot.
Considering how Barça is involved in the Negreira case, history suggests that being a 2nd place team around controversial moments often pays off. If Barça was to be punished heavily, perhaps either Real Madrid or Atleti could ‘inherit’ the title of the 2022/23 La Liga. Nothing suggests this directly right now, but considering how careless Real Madrid is being with La Liga games and line-ups, maybe Atleti could have an ‘extra motivation’ to finish above the rivals.
There certainly will be reasons to keep an eye on your preferred La Liga API if you’re an Atleti fan during the last few rounds of the 2022/23 La Liga edition.
They’re just a couple of points behind Los Blancos as of today, with 4 games missing to the end of the current edition of La Liga. As the colchoneros won’t face any fixture involving Real Madrid or Barça, perhaps there’s an accessible path to surpassing Los Blancos in the table?
A Tough 2022/23 for the Colchonero Fans
Atletico Madrid faced a few tough moments during this season. Finishing 4th, at the very bottom of Group B in the UEFA Champions League was a hard pill to swallow. Collecting only 1 out of 5 points against Club Brugge certainly was the biggest issue, which won’t be forgotten anytime soon, in spite of the many virtues that the Belgian side has demonstrated in the ongoing season.
The beginning of the domestic season also wasn’t great. Prior to the beginning of the Qatar World Cup, Atleti won only 1 out of the 5 last games.
João Félix was melancholically loaned to Chelsea in a move that looked more like financial damage control than anything else. In fact, questions remain in the air regarding the future of Félix, after the expensive loan worth €11m to the Londoner club. Some rumours link the player to Barcelona, in a hard-to-believe move in my opinion. The Blaugrana just allowed Busquets to go to make room (financially) for a potential return of Messi. Atleti simply wouldn’t sell João Félix cheaply to a local rival.
Summary: The End of the 2022/23 Season for Atleti
Atleti recently reached twice the UEFA Champions League final under the command of Simeone. Of course, the squad changed a lot during the years, but finishing at the bottom of a UCL group and miss even Europa League level footie in the second semester, which could be interesting as he won the competition twice with Atletico Madrid.
Considering an unlikely huge punishment for Barcelona at the domestic level, it could be interesting to make an extra effort to surpass Real Madrid in the table in the final 4 rounds. But even if that possibility sounds a bit unlikely, finishing above Real Madrid in La Liga is always an achievement in the eyes of the colchonero fan base.
