The narrative of the La Liga campaign saw Atletico begin the season as plucky underdogs, but as the story of the Spanish title race developed it became clear that Diego Simeone's side were more than just well organised. They have class, a lot of it, and they were deserved winners of the league title.
There wasn't much in it, of course. The big three were separated by just three points and it went down to a nail-biting final match at the Nou Camp, where Barcelona were 'Simeoned' with Atletico getting the point they needed to secure the league.
Real Madrid were out of it come the final day, but they only finished three points behind Atletico and a 2-2 draw at the Vicente Calderon in March is another example of how little there is between the teams.
Atletico won the reverse La Liga fixture 1-0, but a 5-0 aggregate win for Los Blancos in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey is one of the reasons why they are hot favourites at around even money to win the Champions League final in 90 minutes on Saturday night.
They didn't have the pressures of a La Liga title race on the line last weekend either, while the doubts surrounding the fitness of Atletico's star front man Diego Costa are another reason why Atletico Madrid are available at 100/30.
But, even accounting for all of this, should Los Rojiblancos really be such a big price?
Simeone's men have been underestimated throughout their Champions League campaign, yet they found a way against Barcelona and they found a way against Chelsea.
No comments:
Post a Comment