Ahead of the UCL clash vs Barcelona in the Metropolitano, Simeone benched his entire starting eleven except Juan Musso for the match vs Sevilla in La Liga. Eventually, they lost the match by a margin of 2-1, but that loss is not going to affect their league position. Barcelona is close to securing the trophy, while Real Madrid is in second place, Villarreal is in third, and Atletico Madrid is in fourth; however, Real Betis, currently in fifth place, does not pose a threat to Simeone's team, ensuring their safety in the league with a guaranteed UCL spot.
What does the rotation mean for Barcelona?
Athletico team is already physically and energetically above Barcelona. Now they are coming to the second with a 2-goal lead and the rest of 1 week for their key players; it's really concerning for Barca because Barca already misses their captain, Raphinha, and Flick was not able to rotate key players, including Pedri and Yamal, in the Catalan derby. It will negatively affect the team in the upcoming intense UCL match while Athletico comes up with full energy.
Simeoni has a plan.
Simeoni said to media that he has a correct plan to stop Barcelona; his plan worked perfectly in the last leg, and they got a lead of 2 goals, so in this leg everyone expects them to sit back in a low block and do a hurricane-level counter-attack when they get the ball.