Atletico Madrid's strikers have failed to make much of an impact upfront since their return from international duty earlier this month.
Neither Antoine Griezmaan, Kevin Gameiro nor Fernando Torres have managed to find the back of the net following the 10-day break with the exception of Angel Correa, who scored in the 85th minute during the 7-1 rout over Granada, albeit as a right midfielder.
In contrast, prior to departing for international commitments, Griezmann, the team's leading goal scorer had notched up six goals in seven matches, Gameiro scored three, Torres had two goals to his name and so too did Correa.
Furthermore, the quartet were, ostensibly, far more active in front of goal with Griezmann taking a total of 17 shots before the break while his compatriot took 16, El Nino had eight chances of his own and Correa had attempted five shots on goal.
Now the shots have dried up, so too the goals.
Griezmann has only managed one shot in his last two hours of game time, and his compatriot averages a shot every 80 minutes; before the break, he averaged a shot every 30 minutes.
Of the four, only Correa's numbers have improved and now averages a shot every 38 minutes, down from his average of 51 minutes before the break. Diego Simeone landed at Atletico Madrid in 2011 to replace Gregorio Manzano as coach, the former defensive midfielder arrived with full of experience coaching in Argentina and in Italy with Catania, his substitution policy one of the many aspects proving especially successful.
Since taking over in December of 2011 at a team he represented whilst a player, Simeone has helped grow a club that now consistently rubs its shoulders against Europe's elite.
All of this has come down to the intense training regimes on the pitch, the tactical development of the side.
For the tactician in particular, his rise to the top of the trade has come as a result of experimentation, adaptation and eagerness to learn.
In doing so, his Atletico side have become known for their defensive solidity and their ability to be devastatingly quick in attack.
Perfect the most defining aspect of Simeone's tacticial nous, however, is his ability to take risks in order to tilt a match in his favour.
In particular, the clever timing of his substitutions have often worked to his advantage.
Throughout the second-half of the season 2011/12, with the mid-table dwellers in need of confidence, the new manager opted to keep his starting XI on the pitch for as long as possible and would not make his first substitution until the 62nd minute mark. The second change would come with a quarter of an hour left to go and the final change would be made in the final stretch.
A season later, the first substitution throughout their league campaign would often be made on the 60th minute, with the second one to follow 10 minutes later whilst the last change was made on the 79th minute mark.
His changes saw an improved Rojiblancos outfit return to the Champions League the following season, and, with additional commitments, the need for rotation to keep players fresh was needed more than ever.
Simeone's decision to make the first substitution on the 59th minute mark followed by two more changes at 10 minute intervals helped the side to a LaLiga title and Champions League final spot in 2013/14.
Whilst substitutions did not change substantially last year, Simeone has continued the trend of implementing early substitutions this season.
On average, the Argentine has brought on the first substitute on the 50th minute, the second on the 58th minute and the final substitute on the 70th minute.
Against Sevilla on Sunday, Nicolas Gaitan, Tiago and Fernando Torres had all come on by the 65th minute.Diego Simeone gave his first hint as to how he would cover the absence of starting midfielder Koke Resurreccion, with Saul Niguez and Nicolas Gaitan ready to fill in as needed, sending Angel Correa back to the bench.
As such, a bit of a positional reshuffling would take place, with Niguez in a more central role in the double pivot while Gaitan would take over on the right wing where Correa had been playing.
The rest of the XI for the scrimmage was as expected, except for goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who is still recovering from injury, so the recently returned Miguel Angel Moya took his place.
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