Diego Simeone guided his "Atletico Madrid" side to a convincing 4:1 victory against "RB Salzburg" in the Champions League on January 29, 2025. The Spanish giants dominated throughout the match, dealing another heavy blow to the Austrian champions in their troubled European campaign.
"We executed our game plan perfectly today," a satisfied Simeone might have remarked after the final whistle. "Our attacking players were clinical, and we controlled the midfield battle from start to finish."
This defeat continues a concerning pattern for "Salzburg" in this season's Champions League. Just a week earlier, they suffered a crushing 5:1 loss to "Real Madrid", and before that were outclassed 3:0 by "PSG" in December.
To be fair, "Salzburg" did enjoy some success earlier in their campaign, notably securing a 3:1 away victory against "Feyenoord" back in November. However, their overall performance in Europe's elite competition has been disappointing at best.
Their European journey this season began with qualifying matches against "Dynamo Kyiv", where they managed a 2:0 away win before securing progression with a 1:1 home draw. Since then, things have gone downhill fast.
The Austrian side has now conceded 15 goals in their last four Champions League matches while scoring just twice. Is there any way back for "Salzburg" in this competition? With such defensive fragility, their prospects appear bleak.
Do "Atletico" now look like serious contenders after this emphatic away victory? Time will tell, but Simeone's men certainly delivered a statement performance in Austria.
