Atlético still hasn't seen the light and drops two more points against Elche.

Atlético de Madrid appears to have entered a tailspin. After losing their league debut against Espanyol , the red-and-whites, lacking clarity and ideas, drew against a formidable Elche in their second league appearance. Sorloth put Simeone 's team ahead, but Mir, with an extraordinary counterattack, leveled the game and the score remained unchanged. Two games and one point for the Metropolitano team, where several alarm bells have already gone off.

Following rumors about Sorloth 's future, Simeone opted to give the Norwegian a starting role alongside Julián Álvarez . Almada and Giuliano were on the wings, while Barrios and Cardoso were in midfield to cover Baena 's injury. On paper, it seemed to work, and it did so in the opening minutes. The Rojiblancos piled up players on the edge of the box, were incisive in their pressing and vertical in attack, and they quickly found their reward.

Sorloth , questioned after being the last of the offensive rotation in Cornellá, took advantage of a good long pass from Hancko to beat the exit of Dituro , who was bad in his advance towards the forward.

The afternoon smiled on Atlético and eased the woes of a few days ago, but Eder Sarabia 's Elche team showed that they didn't land in the First Division by chance.

The Elche team showed personality and character, shone in offensive transitions , and weren't afraid to play out from the back, overcoming the red and white pressure, which declined throughout the match.

In one of those exits, a fleeting three-touch run, Valera 's diagonal reached Álvaro Rodríguez and the former Madrid youth player quickly passed to Rafa Mir so that the attacker could face Oblak , against whom he finished with ease. It was a draw and a rumbling at the Metropolitano, with the galloping anxiety of someone who wants to fight for the title and we can see in August, right at the start, with an unexpected uphill struggle after stumbling against two inferior rivals.

The red-and-white ball missed players who cared for it. It wasn't the afternoon of Julián Álvarez , angry with the ball, nor of Barrios or Cardoso, slow and predictable. Instead, Elche became a giant. They enjoyed possession, produced moments of great football, and dangerously reached Oblak's area, although they failed to finish.

The match went the way the visitors wanted it to, in the midfield battle and in Atlético's constant inaccuracies in the opponent's three-quarters of the field to facilitate Elche's counterattacks. Valera, Álvaro, and Mir shone brightly there, starring in the first goal and repeatedly creating the opening moments that Sarabia's team found when regaining possession. At the back, Austrian David Affengruber was a rock against Julián and Sorloth.

The break arrived with high heart rates, and the second half confirmed that August isn't Atlético's month. Cholo removed Sorloth, the only player who was offering alternatives with high balls or in space, and brought on Raspadori and Griezmann . He kept Julián on after Cornellá's substitution, but the Atlético attack was a bottleneck against Elche.

Griezmann had a couple of weak shots and Llorente ended up being the best on the right flank, but his relatively accurate crosses failed to find a finisher with Sorloth on the bench.

Galán and Molina were the manager's final attempts to change the mood of the match, a fine illustration that Atlético's playing problems are perhaps more than just footballing issues. They lack talents and have too many repeat players. The final minutes of utter helplessness reflect the reality of the squad.

One point out of a possible six is ​​a tragedy for a team that is supposed to fight for the championship, and the seven days remaining in the transfer market should serve to shake up the tree that Simeone has at his disposal, unable, for now, to make it shine.