Atlético’s reliable unreliability leads to disappointment in rematch with Betis

Madrid – The Metropolitano used to feel like a fortress; on Sunday night it felt like a stage for an all-too-predictable collapse. Real Betis, smarting from Thursday’s 3-0 Copa del Rey rout in Seville, returned to the Spanish capital with a point to prove and left with a 1-0 victory that snapped Atlético de Madrid’s 11-month unbeaten home run and delivered the Verdiblancos their first win at Atlético in any competition since 2010.

Antony’s curling 72nd-minute strike from outside the box was the difference, but the narrative was set long before the ball rippled the net. Betis defended in two compact blocks, sprang forward with precision and repeatedly exploited the yawning gaps between Atlético’s makeshift centre-back pairing of Josema Giménez and Robin Le Normand. The hosts, meanwhile, looked every bit a side robbed of its spine: Pablo Barrios (right-leg injury), Marc Pubill (illness) and Alexander Sørloth (head knock) were all unavailable for kick-off, and the collective drop-off was stark.

A VAR review deep into stoppage time only added to the gloom, ruling Diego Llorente’s own-goal header offside by the slimmest of margins. The decision was correct; the outcome no less painful for a crowd that has watched its team concede first in eight of its last ten home fixtures across all competitions.

The numbers are sobering. Atlético have taken 13 wins from 23 LaLiga matches and trail runaway leaders Real Madrid by a chasm that renders the title race academic. More pressing, the side that once turned 1-0 leads into three-point certainties now struggles to protect any advantage at all. Bodø/Glimt and Betis have already breached the Metropolitano in February; FC Barcelona, winners of 17 of their last 18 games, arrive Thursday for the Copa del Rey semifinal first leg with appetites whetted.

Manager Diego Simeone, clad in his customary black, cut an increasingly haunted figure on the touchline as midfielders Koke (34), Johnny Cardoso (two weeks at the club) and teenage debutant Rodri Mendoza tried to impose order on chaos. Antoine Griezmann remains the squad’s most reliable creator at 34, a reality that underscores both his longevity and the club’s failure to refresh the roster. Julián Álvarez, substituted at halftime, has now gone 12 LaLiga matches without a goal; the centre-forward’s drought has become a microcosm of a wider attacking malaise.

In defence, the absence of Pubill and Dávid Hancko has exposed Giménez and Le Normand as a partnership lacking both pace and synergy. Build-up play stalled repeatedly, with goalkeeper Jan Oblak twice forced to sprint 30 metres to clear under pressure. When Atlético did work the ball into promising areas, the final pass was either overhit or under-hit, allowing Betis to counter through Antony and Aitor Ruibal with alarming ease.

The calendar offers little respite. After Barcelona, Atlético face a Champions League round-of-16 tie against Club Brugge, a side that has already eliminated Spanish opposition from Europe in each of the last two seasons. Simeone’s famed partido a partido mantra now feels less like a philosophy than a plea for survival.

For the first time in the Metropolitano era, opponents arrive believing they can win. On Sunday, Betis proved that belief justified. Unless Atlético solve their dependency on a handful of key players—and quickly—their season risks collapsing into a February of struggle, suffering and, ultimately, silverware-free regret.