against Barcelona. This streak propelled the team to a 10-point lead over Real Madrid and Barcelona in the 2020–21 La Liga title race by February. However, a series of bad results from February to April meant that Atlético were eliminated from the Champions League by Chelsea and Real Madrid closed the league gap to two points before the final matchday, meaning Atlético needed a victory in the last La Liga round to win the championship. Thanks to a Suárez goal in the 67th minute, Atlético Madrid managed eventually to win their second La Liga title under Simeone, after a 2–1 away win over Real Valladolid on the final match day. On 8 July 2021, Atleti announced their extension to Simeone's contract until 2024, and in the same announcement it was also made known that the members of his coaching staff had also renewed their contracts. Style of management Simeone's preferred formation is the 4–4–2, which he first practised when he was manager of Estudiantes de la Plata in 2006. In this formation, the two wingers move inside and act like attacking midfielders, creating space for the full backs and fluidity in the attack, effectively being a 4–2–2–2 when the team is on the offensive. The two holding midfielders provide the defensive muscle needed to win midfield battles. Utilizing this formation, Simeone's Estudiantes won the 2006 Apertura by beating Boca Juniors 2–1 while being down to ten men from the first half. It is essentially this formation that Simeone also utilizes at Atlético Madrid. Simeone has listed his coaching influences being Marcelo Bielsa, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Alfio Basile, Victorio Spinetto, Luigi Simoni, Carlos Bilardo, and Radomir Antić. When he was manager at River Plate, a team graced with the attacking talents of Radamel Falcao, Alexis Sánchez, Ariel Ortega, Mauro Rosales, Diego Buonanotte, Augusto Fernández, and Sebastián Abreu, Simeone played an aggressive 3–3–1–3 formation reminiscent of those used by influential manager (and Simeone's mentor) Marcelo Bielsa. Using this formation, River won the 2008 Clausura, but in the next season, with Sánchez having returned to Udinese and several players suffering from injuries, the 3–3–1–3 backfired and River finished bottom of the table, with Simeone being sacked in the process. A common feature of Simeone's teams is defensive compactness and quick counter-attacks. Their defending consists of two stages: deep defending in their own defensive third in a narrow 4–4–2 consisting of two closely connected defensive