Atletico Madrid hosts Villarreal looking to erase memories of that 5-1

The sting of that beating still lingers. The last time Atletico Madrid and Villarreal met, the Yellow Submarine put 5-1 past the Colchoneros at Estadio de la Ceramica on May 24. That result stuck in the minds of the Rojiblanco faithful, and now there's a chance to start putting it behind them when the two sides face off again, this time in Madrid.

The match is set for Sunday, August 23 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, for the second matchday of LaLiga 2026-2027. Kickoff times for South America: 12:00 pm (Argentina/Uruguay), 11:00 am (Chile) and 10:00 am (Colombia/Peru/Ecuador). The match will stream live and exclusively for the region on Disney+'s Premium Plan.

Diego Simeone arrives on the back of a solid season opener: a 2-0 win over Malaga on matchday one. That result gives a solid foundation to a team that put together a more than respectable campaign last season, reaching the Champions League semifinals, the Copa del Rey final and finishing fourth in LaLiga. Now the goal is to maintain that level while easing back into rhythm the players, both Argentine and Spanish, who featured in July's Club World Cup final in the United States.

Villarreal, meanwhile, couldn't close out its opener with a win, settling for a 2-2 draw on the road against Racing Santander. Even so, the Yellow Submarine arrives with the confidence from that big win in May still fresh, and makes no secret of wanting to repeat the formula against the same opponent.

The names who could decide the match

For Atletico, all eyes are on Julian Alvarez, the key piece up front, along with Cristian Romero in defense and Giuliano Simeone's work down the flanks.

On the visitors' side, Villarreal leans on the scoring of Georges Mikautadze, the unpredictable Nicolas Pepe and the midfield work of Pepe Gueye. Gueye was in fact one of the scorers in that May rout, along with Ayoze Perez (who scored twice), Dani Parejo and Mikautadze himself. Atletico's lone goal that day came from Marc Pubill.

With that recent and painful history in mind, there's an extra edge to this matchup. A packed Metropolitano, a Simeone side needing to confirm the level shown against Malaga, and a Villarreal team that has already proven it can hurt Atletico even on its own turf. The question is simple: is what Atletico showed on matchday one enough to rewrite recent history against this opponent?