Atlético Madrid faces Almería in the Juegos Mediterráneos on Wednesday in what might appear a straightforward encounter for the Liga champion. But the statistics suggest it will be anything other than a soiree by the sea for Diego Simeone's side; Atlético has never left Almería with three points in the bag. The sides have met five times in Primera División in Almería, with the home team victorious on two occasions and honours even in the other three matches. After the weekend's home draw against Celta Vigo and with these numbers no doubt in his hands, Simeone faces a challenge to muster his troops for a fresh assault on Almería's home ground.
The most recent precedent was last season's 2-0 win for the home side in a match where the main protagonist was Fernando Teixeira Vitienes, who made a raft of decisions detrimental to the visitors. The match referee denied Atlético two penalty appeals -- one from Diego Costa and another from Javier Manquillo – and sent off goalkeeper Dani Aranzubia unfairly in the 85th minute. With all substitutions already made midfielder Gabi ended up in goal and was unable to stop the subsequent penalty. Teixeira Vitienes also elected not to award so much as a foul for a vicious challenge by Almería's Hélder Barbosa, which left Atlético midfielder Tiago injured.
But Atlético's woes in Almería stretch further back. In Almería's first season in Primera, 2007-08, Atlético were held to a goalless draw. A year later, the score was 1-1 and Sergio Agüero had several chances to score but complained about tactics after the match: "We can't play for 40 minutes against 10 men without getting forward," said the Argentinean, with the expected consequences. The Atlético coach then was Javier Aguirre.
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