After a hectic month of transfer business at the Atlético Madrid offices, Diego Simeone’s reworked side will take to the pitch at Estádio do Dragão on Sunday for its first preseason friendly against FC Porto.
In case you’ve missed it, Atlético last month closed six incoming transfers and eight outgoing transfers (defender Santiago Mouriño’s €11 million move to Villarreal was announced Friday). Most of the new arrivals have featured prominently in preseason training sessions, first during “boot camp” in Segovia before Atlético returned to its usual facility in Majadahonda — and judging by Simeone’s tested lineup on Thursday, three of the new guys are in line to start in Portugal.
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Have Baena, Johnny, and Ruggeri already won over El Cholo?
Thursday’s test saw Simeone deploy a 4-3-2-1/4-3-3 that featured Matteo Ruggeri at left-back, Álex Baena as a left-sided central midfielder, and Johnny Cardoso as the holding midfielder.
These three players quickly have established themselves as first-choice options — something that was expected in Baena’s case (given his elite talent) as well as Johnny’s (given the team’s intense need for his profile). Ruggeri appears to have already won his preseason battle with Javi Galán, irrespective of whether Simeone wants to continue with a four-defender back line or revert to a three-man defense with wingbacks.
Simeone prueba once para el primer amistoso de la pretemporada vs Porto.➡️Trivote en el centro del campo➡️Sorloth de titular junto con Julián➡️Estreno de 3 de los 6 fichajes¿Te gusta?
— Atlético Stats (@atletico_stats_) July 31, 2025
The central defense pairing of Clément Lenglet and Robin Le Normand should carry over to Sunday as David Hancko continues his adaptation and Josema Giménez continues to recover from a muscle injury he picked up during the FIFA Club World Cup. As of today, the club is unlikely to make a further defensive addition. So until Hancko adapts or Giménez proves his fitness, Lenglet and Le Normand will be Simeone’s starters.
Up top, Cholo Simeone has tested a forward line with Julián Alvarez and Giuliano Simeone either side of Alexander Sørloth. This seems to be as much about achieving match fitness as it is a glimpse into El Cholo’s plan for the new season. I expect Alvarez will serve as the 9 when competitive football resumes, with players like Baena, Thiago Almada, and Pablo Barrios fashioning chances for the Argentina star.
History with Porto
This friendly will be Atlético’s first meeting of any kind with the 30-time Portuguese champions since a 2-1 loss to close the UEFA Champions League group stage on Nov. 1, 2022. Atleti have won two of its six visits to Porto, including a memorable 3-1 win to cap the 2021/22 group stage.
Given his shared history with both clubs, the late Diogo Jota will be honored during this preseason match. Jota joined Atleti from Paços de Ferreira in 2016, and the Porto native played for the Dragons on loan during the 2016/17 season. He made a permanent move to Wolves in 2018 without officially debuting for the Colchoneros.
This match also is an opportunity for a Samu Aghehowa “revenge game.” Atlético sold Samu to Porto last August, receiving €15 million for 50 percent of his rights; like Jota, he never debuted for the first team. Earlier this summer, Atleti sold the rest of Samu’s rights in two transactions for a total of €17 million, netting a €26 million profit on the 21-year-old striker. Entering a World Cup season, Samu appears on his way to stardom; he scored 19 goals in the Portuguese Liga last year and 27 goals across 45 appearances in all competitions.
Kickoff time 8:00 p.m. CEST, 7:00 p.m. BST, 2:00 p.m. ET, 11:00 a.m. PT
Available TV/streaming fuboTV, Fox Sports dot com, Fox Sports App, Fox Deportes (United States)
