Atletico Madrid 1-1 Elche: Simeone's frustrating start to 2025-26 continues
Atletico Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by newly promoted Elche, having initially taken the lead after just eight minutes.
Atletico Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Elche, as Diego Simeone's wait for a win rolls into a third week.
After a 2-1 loss to Espanyol in their opening LaLiga game last week, Atleti will have been wanting to provide a response in front of their home fans on Saturday.
It seemed like they would do just that when Alexander Sorloth brilliantly chipped them ahead inside eight minutes, with the Norwegian found by a pinpoint David Hancko pass.
However, Atletico's lead was short-lived, as in the 15th minute, a blistering Elche counter-attack saw Rafa Mir draw level, with the Sevilla loanee slotting the ball past a helpless Jan Oblak.
Antoine Griezmann led Atleti's push for a second after the interval, but Elche held firm, despite the hosts having four attempts on target in the second half.
It marks another disappointing day for Simeone, whose team spent big this summer but could now be as far as five points behind Real Madrid and Barcelona by the end of the weekend.
Data Debrief: Sorloth's efforts prove fruitless
Atleti finished with 1.63 expected goals (xG), and Sorloth was responsible for 0.71 of that figure. The Norway international registered two shots on target and had 10 touches in the opposition area, leading the game.
But he could not find a winner, and Atletico have now dropped points in five of their last eight matches against newly promoted LaLiga teams (W3 D3 L2), having won 10 of their last 12 encounters with promoted sides, drawing once and losing once.
Elche have not lost any of their last six LaLiga matches (W2 D5), scoring just one goal in each of them. They have not managed to remain unbeaten in more consecutive matches in the competition since April 1966 (G7 W4 D3).
