Atletico Madrid, who have maintained a winning streak since the beginning of the league, finally ushered in their first defeat in the sixth round of the league on September 26.

They lost 0-1 away to Villarreal.

Of course, the defeat in this game is understandable. Because Simeone has made a big rotation adjustment to the lineup.

Players including Gao Zheng and Antoine Griezmann were not in the starting line-up.

That's because Atletico Madrid will face Benfica in midweek, the strongest team in the group after them.

After the match against Benfica, the next step is the Madrid derby.

Although Atletico Madrid dominated the match against Real Madrid last season, this does not mean that Atletico Madrid can still easily beat Real Madrid in the new season

Any derby, you need to take it seriously.

With those two games to come, the match against Villarreal is not so important.

Moreover, in this game, Atletico Madrid will not be wronged even if it loses to Villarreal. Villarreal are unbeaten so far this season, and they are the only three unbeaten teams, along with Real Madrid and Celta Vigo.

But unlike those two teams, Real Madrid and Celta Vigo are unbeaten but have four wins and two draws, while Villarreal have five wins and one draw.

So after beating Atletico Madrid, they surpassed Atletico Madrid, which had 15 points, and became the first in the league with 16 points!

Although everyone knows that it is almost impossible for this team to win the league title, and being at the top of the league does not mean that they will still be in this position at the end of the league. But for the "yellow submarine."

"To be able to surface once in a while and sit at the top of the league is enough to make their supporters happy.

Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, is second with 15 points from Barcelona after losing to Villarreal.

The league is still a long one, and losing a game doesn't mean fatal.

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After playing against Villarreal, Atletico Madrid welcomed Portuguese giants Benfica at home.

As it turned out, Simeone was right to be willing to lose the game rather than rotate in the match against Villarreal.

Because despite the fact that Atletico Madrid is at home, Benfica have shown great tenacity.

Although Correa opened the scoring for Atletico Madrid in the opening 23 minutes.

But on the 37th minute, Niklas Gaitan equalised for Benfica.

The Benfica number 10 was then very active, threatening Atletico Madrid's defence on several occasions.

In the 51st minute, he set up team-mate Guedes to score and break through Atletico Madrid again.

As the Benfica players celebrated their second goal at the Estadio Calderón, there was an awkward silence.

This is Atletico Madrid's home stadium!

No one expected Atletico Madrid to fall behind 1:2 at their home stadium.

Even if Benfica is the strongest team in this group except Atletico Madrid, it is also under the premise of "excluding Atletico Madrid". As a result, this Fika is going to pull Atletico Madrid off the throne at home?

Fortunately, Atletico Madrid still has Gao Zheng.

In the 77th minute, Gao Zheng finally equalized for Atletico Madrid.

His direct free-kick broke into the net and reinvigorated the atmosphere at the Calderón Stadium.

"Gao Zheng! He saved the team! If Atletico Madrid loses this game at home, the consequences are unimaginable! He Ping said with palpitations.

In the end, with Gao Zheng's goal, Atletico Madrid drew 2:2 at home to Benfica.

It was certainly not a good result, but after a process of almost losing the game, a draw was not so unacceptable.

After all, there is a worse outcome in front of everyone, and the lesser of two evils is better.

If it weren't for Gao Zheng, this game would have been lost......

However, after the game, Atletico Madrid's performance was criticized by the media.

This is the home field, and everyone's pre-match prediction is that Atletico Madrid will beat Benfica at home.

Now you're just a draw at home, so what if you go away?

Could it be that Atletico Madrid really wants to compete with Benfica for the top spot in the group?

The right to qualify from the group, everyone is not worried. But if you don't win the first place in the group, it's too embarrassing.

Moreover, the group ranking is not only related to face, but also to the result of the draw after entering the knockout round.

If Atletico Madrid are to face weaker opponents in the knockout rounds, they will have to top their group in order to finish second.

At the same time, Atletico Madrid was able to draw by Benfica at their home stadium, which also shows how difficult the Champions League is.

The teams that can participate in the Champions League basically have two brushes, take Astana, the weakest team in this group, for example.

They lost cleanly 2-0 away to Benfica in the first round of the group stage, only to draw 2-2 with Galatasaray when they returned to their home stadium in this group stage.

You must know that Galatasaray only scored in the 86th minute, which is basically a stunner. As a result, in the 89th minute, Astana was stunned to pull it back, allowing the Turkish team to get three points to fly.

Even an opponent like Astana should not be underestimated, and this is the Champions League.

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In the other Champions League group game on the same day, Atletico Madrid's local rivals Real Madrid beat Malmo 2-0 away.

The Champions League group stage has been mentioned for two rounds, and Real Madrid have won both games, scoring six goals without conceding a single goal.

After being held to a draw by promoted Atletico Mahikon in the first round of the league, Benitez's side have gradually been on the right track.

In the next four league games, Real Madrid maintained their winning streak. It wasn't until the last round of the league that they were held to a draw at home by Malaga.

However, in the Champions League group stage, they beat Swedish side Malmo 2-0 away.

This fully shows that Benitez's team is still very self-adjusting.

After seeing off Carlo Ancelotti, the hero of the 10-time Champions League, Real Madrid fans are still a little worried, worried that Benitez will not be able to control the Galaxy.

But now, many people can put their hearts in their stomachs.

After all, Benitez is also a master tactician who led Liverpool to the Champions League trophy, although he has a nose at Inter Milan, but it may just be that Inter Milan is not suitable for him.

And you must know that Real Madrid used to be Benitez's old club - Benitez's youth players spent in Real Madrid's academy.

Benitez also began his coaching career at Real Madrid, where he is now coached by Real Madrid's B team, Castilla, and subsequently as an assistant coach for Real Madrid's first team.

So this man has Real Madrid blood, he coaches Real Madrid, just like Pep Guardiola coaches Barcelona.

Everyone believes that it is a match made in heaven.

Now, the master tactician has really put Real Madrid on the right track.

The turmoil that followed Carlo Ancelotti's sacking did not affect the Real Madrid first team.

- This is said on the premise that Benitez passes the next "exam".

Real Madrid travels to Atletico Madrid.

This Madrid city derby is a big test that determines everyone's evaluation of Benitez.

After all, Real Madrid faced Atletico Madrid eight times last season, winning just one in the Champions League, drawing three and losing all four of the other four.

It can be said that it is tragic.

And even if they win Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, they can't go far in the Champions League, and that victory for Atletico Madrid is meaningless.

Such a poor single-season record made every Real Madrid fan breathe a sigh of relief.

With the arrival of a new manager, it is only natural that everyone hopes that Real Madrid will be humiliated under the leadership of Rafael Benitez.

It can be said that in the last round of the league, Benitez made a rotation for the Champions League, and the team was still forced to draw by Malaga, and there are still criticisms in the media. But as long as he can lead the team to beat Atletico Madrid, then those criticisms will be gone.