Atlético kept Kane and Olise off the scoresheet but were still well beaten 2-0

They held their own until they conceded

Atlético lost 2-0 at home to Bayern, ending a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions. It was their first defeat at the Metropolitano this season. Karl scored on 54 and Laimer on 74.

They held their own until they conceded. Possession was 33% in the first half, and it stayed 0-0 until the break. Kane's chance on 27 and Davies's on 34 were dangerous, but both went wide, and on 34 Hancko then blocked a shot from Kane. They were being pushed back, but they were keeping Bayern out. By the final whistle, though, Atlético had nine shots to Bayern's 19, and they were well beaten.

In the preview I asked whether Atlético could win by scoring and keeping Kane and Olise quiet. Kane's run of scoring in 10 straight Champions League appearances came to an end, and Olise did not score either. Even so, Karl and Laimer got the goals and Atlético did not score at all. They had three shots on target, all of them from 66 minutes onwards.

They got there first but could not pick up the second ball

Personally, I thought Sørloth did better than expected on his first start of the season. He was getting to long balls first, and UEFA's figures have him receiving 13 long passes, the most in the team. Simeone said after the game that having Sørloth meant they could attack directly without building up every time.

The problem came after that. They could not keep hold of the second ball. Barrios said the plan was to put Sørloth up front and go for the second balls, and that what was missing was picking them up and playing in Bayern's half. Simeone also said they needed to pick up more second balls. If you split UEFA's ball-recovery map into three equal sections along the length of the pitch, Atlético made 10 recoveries in the middle section to Bayern's 31.

I think one of the causes was where the players were standing. If you convert UEFA's average positions into distance from Atlético's goal line, Sørloth was at 53m and Julián at about 52m up front, and Barrios, in the centre of midfield, was at 40m. That left a gap of around 12m between the front two and the midfield. Bayern's Kimmich and Bischof were in that gap, at 49-50m. These averages include time in possession as well, so they are not the exact distances at the moment the ball was contested, but my view is that Bayern's holding midfielders were the ones better placed to reach the loose balls.

If you defend deep and hit long balls, there is nobody to pick them up, even when you get there first. The ball comes straight back and you are defending in your own half again. Atlético's average position was the deepest of their four Champions League games this season. Push the midfield up against Bayern and there is a fear of them using the space behind it. Even so, if you are going to go long, you have to get players up to where the ball drops, or there is less point in playing Sørloth.

Le Normand's mistake was only part of it

The goal on 54 came from a Le Normand mistake. He took too long dealing with a loose ball, there was a mix-up with Pubill, and Karl took it off him. With Hjulmand suspended, Cardoso injured and Romero not in the squad either, Llorente played in midfield and Pubill at right-back, which left Le Normand and Hancko at centre-back. In the preview I went for keeping Pubill at centre-back because of my doubts about Le Normand, and sadly those doubts came true.

But I don't want to put it all on one player. It came at the end of about a minute of Bayern attacking, after a free-kick restart near the halfway line. A cross from the right was only half cleared, Barrios blocked Bischof's shot, and the loose ball dropped in front of Le Normand.

The longer you spend defending in your own half, the more often you have to deal with the ball in deep areas. I think that moment was one of those. Pubill also said they struggled to get out from the back, and that they lacked the first pass and the ability to keep the ball after winning it.

Atlético needed changes to get the momentum back

Watching the game, you saw fewer and fewer of those moments when they played into Sørloth and got up the pitch. After Barrios on 25, Atlético did not have another shot until Llorente on 66. The momentum graph stayed on Bayern's side from 33 minutes until just after Bayern scored, and between the start of the second half and that goal Atlético had no corners and won no free-kicks.

That was the spell when they should have used changes to get the momentum back. I think half-time was the moment to act. Of the eight competitive games this season that were 0-0 at half-time, Atlético changed players at the break in five. This time they did not, and the first change came on 59, about five minutes after the goal. The 59th minute is about average for Simeone's changes this season. Early or late aside, I wanted him to do something before the goal.

On 59 Le Normand, Sørloth and Baena came off for Koke, Lookman and Kang-in Lee, which put Pubill at centre-back and Llorente at right-back, with Barrios and Koke in midfield. That was almost the same set-up I went for in the preview. It is hard to say that changed the flow of the game, though. The momentum started swinging Atlético's way on 57, just after the goal and a little before the changes. From the changes until Barrios came off on 75, Atlético had one shot to Bayern's six, and Bayern got their second on 74. Just changing the shape at the back once they were 1-0 down was not enough.

The passes were not connecting up front either. UEFA's figures show that in the roughly 16 minutes before Julián came off, he did not complete a single pass to or from Koke, Lee or Lookman. Lookman stayed wide on the left and Lee was over to the right, and the two of them exchanged just one pass right up to the final whistle. With Sørloth gone, they could not keep going forward without linking up in attack. Neuer stopped Llorente's shot on 66 and Giuliano's header on 79, and they did not get a single goal back.

For now, the focus should be on La Liga

Atlético have four points from four Champions League games. Even if they win the remaining four they will have 16, the same total as eighth place in each of the last two seasons. Finishing in the top eight and going straight through to the last 16 will be difficult. They still have a chance in the competition, though. Last season they finished 14th, went into the play-offs and reached the semi-finals.

For now, the focus should be on La Liga. Next up is Barcelona at the Metropolitano, with kick-off at 21:00 CET on Sunday 8 November. Atlético are two points behind, and defeat would make it five. Barcelona have won 10 and lost one in La Liga this season, and the only points they have dropped are the three at home to Real Madrid. They are not likely to drop many against lesser sides, so a five-point gap would take quite a while to close.

Ratings

Starters

Substitutes

ItC ratings via Into the Calderón; FotMob ratings via FotMob.