La Liga 2017/18: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Barcelona; 5 talking points

#2. Atletico Madrid needs to feel more at home at Wanda Metropolitano

Wanda Metropolitano is not as intimidating as the Calderon

Wanda Metropolitano is no Calderon. And Atletico Madrid away from Calderon just didn't feel like the Atletico Madrid we know.

Sure, the noise levels were high and the fans seemed to have forgotten about the defeat against Chelsea. But seeing out a 1 goal advantage is bread and butter stuff for Diego Simeone's men.

However, they did not look like their old selves, especially towards the business end of the match. Atletico botched several of their set-pieces and Diego Simeone's characteristically defensive substitutions didn't help the cause either.

Despite the substitutions, Atletico gave away yet another late goal, 2nd in 2 big matches so far and one can't help but feel that it might take a little while before the Wanda Metropolitano truly becomes home-- the place where Simeone's men do what they want and rub it in with some deafening decibel levels.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

Know More

Edited by Shambhu Ajith