Astana 0-0 Atletico Madrid: Simeone's men held in Kazakhstan

Atletico failed to break down the hosts, meaning they could be overtaken by Benfica at the top of Champions League Group C

Atletico Madrid were held to a surprise 0-0 draw by a spirited Astana side in Tuesday's Champions League clash at the Astana Arena.

Diego Simeone's side held top spot heading into Group C's early kick-off and could have pulled three points ahead of Benfica with victory in Kazakhstan.

Koke struck the woodwork in both halves but Atletico toiled too often in possession against a well-disciplined home side.

Fernando Torres - chasing his 100th Atleti goal - also spurned a good chance and Antoine Griezmann came close in the second half, but Astana held on for a famous point which keeps alive their hopes of at least battling for a Europa League spot by finishing third.

Astana, in their maiden Champions League campaign, now have two points from their four matches following a 2-2 home draw with Galatasary on matchday two.

Tiago came close early on for Atletico with a blocked effort inside the area but Astana, roared on by a vociferous home crowd, denied them any real rhythm in the opening 25 minutes.

Junior Kabananga's scuffed volley from 20 yards forced Jan Oblak into a save but chances were few and far between in the opening half-hour, until Torres stole in behind Evgeny Postnikov following Juanfran's long ball and prodded wide across goal.

Koke looped an effort onto the crossbar with a free-kick just before half-time but Atletico otherwise struggled to find a way past a stubborn home side.

Diego Godin glanced a header straight into Nenad Eric's hands and Tiago dragged a shot wide from 20 yards as Atletico began to turn up the pressure after the interval.

Simeone threw on Jackson Martinez in an effort to break through a robust defensive line but Atletico's build-up play on the synthetic turf was too often laboured or undone by wayward passes.

Griezmann, who had been quiet throughout, fizzed a low shot just wide of the far post after a neat one-two with Koke, before the Spain midfielder almost got lucky with a looped cross from the left that bounced off the top of the bar.

Eric saved down low from Jose Gimenez's header as Atleti began to push further forward as Astana legs grew tired, and the 2013-14 finalists almost snatched the victory with the last kick of the game, as Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco collected Griezmann's cross and shot across goal, only for the goalkeeper to claim well low to his left.

But Astana held on for a famous point and restored some pride following their 4-0 defeat in Madrid on matchday three.

Draws Show Diego Simeone Must Rely More on Atletico Madrid's Varied Attack

Atletico Madrid missed a big chance to move closer to Champions League qualification for the knock-out phase on Tuesday night as they could only manage a 0-0 draw in Kazakhstan against Astana.

With seven points from four games, Atleti now sit in second place in the group—but with tough fixtures away to Benfica and at home toGalatasaray still to come.

Had they taken a win at Astana, only another point would realistically be needed from the last two games to assure progress and first place would still have been an option, but Atleti now need a positive result to keep the Turkish side at bay next time out.

Manager Diego Simeone, unhappy with his team's attacking play on the night, perhaps needs to be more forceful and reliant on his team's versatile methods of attack, rather than playing with a more withdrawn and safety-first XI, which has seen Atletico draw both their last two games when wins should have been taken.

Astana

A midfield quartet of Koke, Saul, Tiago and Gabi—those chosen against Astana—offered plenty of running, closing down, technique on the ball and tactical awareness, but little in the way of capacity to break lines by beating opponents one-on-one or showing a turn of pace to really punish teams on the counter-attack.

It was telling that Atletico's best spell in the game, when more chances were created and real danger came with any frequency, was in the final 20 minutes—once changes had been made and the likes of Oliver Torres and Yannick Carrasco entered as substitutes.

There was no real need to go with all four quite similar options in the middle line; sure, Saul deserved a run-out, and this was probably an ideal time to bring him in, but he could have either replaced Koke as the flank-to-infield option or else Simeone could have rested one of his starting veteran central midfielders.

Astana didn't have any trouble in repelling the slow, methodical build-up those four supplied, and the front two of Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres—later replaced by Jackson Martinez—lacked support or runners beyond them.

Carrasco, Oliver

Belgian winger Carrasco, so effective against Valencia and also impressive in the first half against Deportivo La Coruna on Friday, was the catalyst for Atleti's improvement and he twice went close to scoring, but the Spanish side simply didn't create enough clear openings.

Per Marca, Simeone was critical of a lack of invention in the final third:

We carved out three or four good goalscoring chances which we failed to put away. But no blame. 

We obviously have to be better going forward. We need to be surer of ourselves in the final third.

I told the lads the same, that we're doing well and that whoever loses their nerve, loses the game.

That has to go down, at least in part, to his decisions, though; not only was it this game which saw a lack of chances created until Carrascoand Oliver came on to reshape the midfield alignment, but also the second half against Depor.

Having dominated entirely in the Liga match on Friday night, Simeonetook off Carrasco and Martinez and replaced them with Angel Correaand Saul, lessening the impact in the final third by both numbers and direct running.

Depor's equaliser might have been a freak incident after JosemaGimenez's mistake, but the change from an offensive pattern of play still led to the increased pressure Atleti came under in the second half.

Two from Five

Atleti's usual 4-4-2 has mainly seen Griezmann paired up with either of Jackson or Fernando Torres from the start, with the other inevitably used as substitute this term.

Both have had their moments of form and Correa has also briefly begun to shine. Luciano Vietto also awaits his first big impact, having struggled for game time due to a poor start to the season and a recent illness.

With so many offensive options, Simeone has to begin focusing on killing off matches earlier on by using the huge armoury at his disposal.

Of course, Atleti have to decide to shut up shop from time to time—and as good as they usually are in defence, why wouldn't they back themselves to do so?

Against these significantly lesser opponents, though, the focus should very much be on getting the win wrapped up, and then making alterations to improve the balance and defensive nature of the team.

Atletico can challenge the very best on a game-to-game basis, but with the talent and value of his final-third players ready to be unleashed,Simeone must start ensuring the team see off opponents with greater consistency to have a chance of landing the biggest prizes.