Atleti: Mateu Alemany and Simeone roll up their sleeves

It annoys some people, but Atleti are a work in progress and still growing

Mateu Alemany made it clear what he came to Atleti to do: to demand standards and sign the best players the club's money could buy. The board has lacked ambition and been too tight with the chequebook, but Mateu hasn't. He has given Simeone good tools, and after the third matchday, Simeone seems to have found the key, the magic touch everyone has been asking him for. This Atleti side plays well, gets you excited and, above all, has a recognisable identity on the pitch. Home and away, Atleti want to take the initiative, have the ball and score goals. Simeone deserves credit. So do the players. And so does Mateu's work: in the winter he brought in Lookman, Mendoza and Vargas, the last two being projects for the future with little weight right now, but where he really excelled was in selling Conor Gallagher and Raspadori for a fortune. His first window was good. But his second, this summer, has been even better.

Hamstrung by the Julián Alvarez saga, Mateu has played his hand well. He has brought in five good players, five who have clicked from minute one, five who raise the level considerably. Cuti Romero (leadership and authority), Kang In Lee (work rate and talent), Hjulmand (personality and seniority), Jonathan David (power and goals) and Grimaldo (quality and set pieces) have delivered right from the start. From minute zero. Mateu has brought in personality and quality. And Simeone is getting the most out of the squad. Add to that two of last year's signings, Baena and Cardoso, who are great news. Atleti finally have real competition for places. Exactly what Simeone was crying out for. Well done, Mateu. The team is still a work in progress, and while neither Simeone nor Mateu are Manolo and Benito, the builders from the Spanish sitcom 'Manos a la obra', nor have they reinvented the wheel, what is clear is that moving on Almada, Nahuel, Ruggeri, Lemar, Lenglet and Giménez to bring in Grimaldo, Kang In, Cuti Romero, Jonathan David and Hjulmand has been a step forward. One that, who knows, may turn out to be a giant leap.

There is a very long way to go, but Atlético have now won five in a row. And they are going for a sixth. And in the winter? Well, Mateu has more on his to-do list. If it flies, it goes in the pot. Like Manolo and Benito, Mateu and Simeone have rolled up their sleeves and got down to work. Atleti are still under construction, but the building is looking good. We will have to keep chipping away. The Simeone-Mateu partnership is exactly what this club needed. Two number ones working together. Each in his own style and his own area, but aligned on a common front. That little partnership is making Atleti bigger. Simeone and Mateu, two men, one destiny.