Atletico Madrid have five clean sheets in 10 matches this season, and that is a very different start from the side that conceded 81 goals in 61 matches last season. They also strung together five consecutive victories for the first time since November 2025. The change has come from the back, with Jan Oblak and Cristian Romero at the centre of it.
Oblak's rebound
Oblak's save percentage has jumped from 66.5% last season to 76% this season, while his goals prevented per match has risen from 0.01 to 0.46. He also kept his first clean sheet in the top continental competition in his last five matches. Europa Press called it "a revolution that is beginning to bear fruit for Atlético".
Romero's immediate authority
Romero has settled in quickly. With him starting, Atlético have won five of six matches and conceded only four goals, while he leads LaLiga EA Sports in interceptions per 90 minutes with 3.2. Europa Press said the Argentine centre-back has needed just one month to become "the boss of the red-and-white defence". That is a fair reading of the early evidence, and it is hard to argue against the way he has changed the tone of the back line.
Atlético's 2-0 win over Manchester United at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on matchday 2 of the Champions League league phase sits inside that run, and the next league games will tell us whether this level holds. For now, the clean sheets and the numbers around Oblak and Romero point to a team that looks far harder to open up than the one from last season.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
