Monday 3 October 2016 12:56, UK
Atletico Madrid remain as tough as ever, but Guillem Balague looks at how Diego Simeone is adapting the way they play.
Atletico Madrid's recent 1-0 win over Bayern Munich was yet another reminder that Diego Simeone's side remain formidable opponents against the very best. Same old Atleti.
But when Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti was quoted afterwards as saying that "their style is the same" it wasn't completely accurate. Simeone is trying to change the way they play.
A quick look at the stats shows that some of the key numbers are on the up. Atletico are having more shots and more passes. They're showing signs of dominating games more.
It's true that Simeone has been very reluctant to do so in the past. He said last February: "We're a tough team, strong, intense, powerful at counter-attacking. I don't want this to ever change. We don't know how to play any other way. Should we change our style it would be a total disaster."
Simeone knows the risks. But Atletico's evolution is having to come not through choice but necessity - and this is something he is coming to realise.
Their difficult start to the season confirmed this. Atletico suffered a late equaliser at home to Alaves and were then held at Leganes. Two draws against two newly-promoted teams.
In these games, Simeone was accused of being overly cautious, with Antonio Griezmann even suggesting relegation was a possibility. "We must begin to be ourselves," Griezmann said.
But what is that now? A few years ago it was very clear. In 2014/15, Atleti scored 30 goals from set-pieces - that was 10 more than any other team in La Liga.
They remain a physical threat. All four of their goals against Celta Vigo came from right-wing crosses, for example.
But they're also one of only four teams in La Liga yet to score from a set-piece this season. There's much greater emphasis on their quality in open play.
In 2014/15, Atletico scored only 30 goals from open play. Real Madrid and Barcelona scored over 80 each. Last year Atletico upped that to 50. Now they're almost keeping up with the big two.
And the projection now is for 65 goals, more than double the amount from open play two seasons ago. Much closer to Barcelona and Real. Simeone has let the handbrake off.
In the home game against Sporting Gijon he did just that by playing a four-man midfield of Nicolas Gaitan, Saul, Koke and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco. All very offensive.
They won the game 5-0 with the fourth goal a good example of their more expansive approach - Filipe Luis powering forward from full-back with five men in the box for the goal.
Simeone will continue to be more cautious in the bigger games, as we saw in the recent 1-1 draw against Barcelona. But even against Bayern there were some signs of change.
Consider his selection for that game. Yes, Gabi was back in midfield but he was playing alongside Koke. In the game against Bayern last season, it was Augusto Fernandez, more defensive, in there.
Simeone tried to play Koke in a deeper role during pre-season in 2015 but abandoned the plan because it didn't work. He seems to be returning to that now.
Now he's beginning to introduce more and more creative players into his midfield as he looks for variations in Atleti's attacking play.
It's a balancing act for Simeone because he is desperate not to lose what has made them so special. But contrary to what Ancelotti says, changes are being made at Atletico Madrid.
