La Liga Round 36: Osasuna defeated Atletico Madrid 2-0, the tactics and game behind the unpopularity

At 1 a.m. on May 16, a match in the 36th round of the 2024-2025 La Liga was staged passionately at Osasuna's home court, with Osasuna taking on Atletico Madrid at home. Before this game, it was generally believed that Atletico Madrid would win easily, but the final result was beyond everyone's expectations. Osasuna scored with the header of Katna and Budimir, defeated Atletico Madrid 2-0, giving the opponent three consecutive away losses.

From the perspective of the game progress, Osasuna showed a strong desire to win and a positive attitude towards the game from the beginning. At the beginning of the game, they actively fought with the cheers of home fans and quickly took the initiative on the field. Atletico Madrid seemed a little slow after the start of the game, and the players' condition and attention seemed to be not at their best. In the 25th minute of the game, Zaragoza took the corner kick and accurately found Katna in the penalty area. The latter jumped high, overwhelming Atletico Madrid's defensive player, headed the ball, and Osasuna took the lead 1-0. This goal instantly ignited the enthusiasm of home fans, and the whole stadium was in full swing. After taking the lead, the morale of Osasuna team was greatly boosted. They continued to maintain high-intensity defense and successfully limited Atletico Madrid's offense. In the first half, Osasuna ended the half-time competition with this goal with a score of 1-0. In the second half, Atletico Madrid launched a fierce counterattack, and they replaced players such as Azpilicueta, Lino, Griezmann and Correa to try to strengthen the offense and equalize the score. However, Osasuna's defense was very tenacious, and they united as one and successfully resolved Atletico Madrid's offense again and again. In the 82nd minute of the game, Balha, who came on the bench, made a precise cross from the right, and Budimir beat the defensive player in the middle of the penalty area, headed the ball, widened the score to 2-0, and completely locked in the victory.

In this game, Atletico Madrid had an absolute advantage in ball possession rate, up to 65%, and the number of passes in the whole game reached 539, but their offensive efficiency was very low. They only had 9 shots in the whole game and only had 3 shots on the right track, and they could not break through Osasuna's defense line. On the contrary, although Osasuna only had three shots in the game, it efficiently converted into two goals. This fully demonstrates that in football games, ball possession is not the only factor that determines the outcome of the game, and offensive efficiency and defensive quality are equally crucial.

For Osasuna, this victory is of great significance. Previously, they only achieved a bleak record of 1 win, 2 draws and 17 losses in their last 20 historical matches with Atletico Madrid, and were at an absolute disadvantage. The victory of this game not only ended their embarrassing record of not winning against Atletico Madrid, but also temporarily rose to 8th place in the league standings, one step closer to the European qualification zone. At the same time, this is also the first time that Osasuna coach Moreno led the team to defeat Atletico Madrid coached by Simeone, which is undoubtedly a huge achievement for him personally. This victory is also the result of the joint efforts of all the players of the team. They proved their strength to everyone with their tenacious fighting spirit and outstanding performance.

In contrast, Atletico Madrid suffered three consecutive away games, and the team's morale and confidence suffered a certain blow. With two rounds left in the league, they are 8 points behind Real Madrid, ranked second, and have completely missed the league runner-up. In addition, their offensive problems have been exposed again. Although they have many outstanding players, when facing intensive defense, their offensive methods are single and there is a lack of effective scoring methods. The team's tactical style has also been questioned. Simeone's traditional defensive counterattack tactics seem to have been understood by the opponent and did not perform as much as they should in this game. In the next game, Atletico Madrid needs to adjust its state as soon as possible to solve the offensive problems, otherwise they may encounter more setbacks in the remaining games of the season.

This game also brought considerable shock to the entire La Liga. Osasuna's upset victory allowed people to see the uncertainty and charm of football matches. At the same time, it also allows other teams to see the hope and possibility of defeating strong teams. For Atletico Madrid, this loss is a wake-up call, reminding them not to slack off in future games and need to constantly improve and improve their tactics and styles. For fans, this wonderful game is undoubtedly a visual feast, allowing them to witness those unexpected miraculous moments in the football world. I believe that in the future La Liga, there will be more such exciting games and unexpected results, let's wait and see.