Pellegrino Matarazzo Faces Challenge Against Atlético Madrid in LaLiga Debut

Pellegrino Matarazzo will need to break a six-year and eleven-match winless streak in LaLiga against Atlético Madrid if he hopes to achieve victory in his debut as head coach of Real Sociedad at Anoeta tonight. During this period, the txuriurdin side managed to defeat Real Madrid three times and Barcelona once, yet they have consistently fallen short against their current opponent. Notably, they did secure a 2-0 victory against Atlético in the Copa del Rey in 2022 at home.

Historically, Atlético has been one of the teams that posed difficulties for Real Sociedad under Imanol Alguacil, with the latter finding more success against both Real Madrid and Barcelona, as previously noted. Alguacil’s first encounter with Atlético resulted in a 0-2 loss during the 2018-19 season when he took over from Asier Garitano, marking the start of an impressive era.

Imanol managed to redeem himself with a 2-0 win in their next meeting on September 14, 2019, thanks to goals from Odegaard and Monreal. Only Aritz, along with the currently absent Zubeldia, Oyarzabal, and Remiro, who was a substitute, remain from that match. Since then, more than six years and eleven encounters have passed without a LaLiga victory against Atlético, with a record of seven losses and four draws.

One of those draws occurred during the second half of that season, resulting in a 1-1 tie at the Metropolitano. The subsequent season saw two Atlético victories, 0-2 and 2-1, with another draw of 2-2 in Madrid and a 1-2 loss in San Sebastián in the following matches. In between these regular league fixtures, Imanol’s side eliminated Atlético from the Copa del Rey with a 2-0 win in the Round of 16. In the 2022-23 season, the teams drew 1-1 at home, with Sadiq scoring, and later faced another loss of 2-1 away.

For the 2023-24 season, Real Sociedad once again experienced defeat in both league matches against Atlético, losing 2-1 and 0-2, while last season culminated in a 1-1 draw at Anoeta, highlighted by Sucic’s goal, followed by a heavy 4-0 defeat at the Metropolitano.