Atletico Madrid have won eleven games in a row – six of them in La Liga – their best streak since autumn 2012.

This means Diego Simeone’s side have drawn level with Barcelona at the top of the table with one game to go. Your next opponents? Barca on Saturday at their temporary home, the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Simeone has yet to win an away game at Barca in his 13 years as Atletico manager, but this could be his best chance. Hansi Flick’s side have won just one of their last six La Liga games, including home defeats to 14th-placed Las Palmas and 15th-placed Leganes.

If Atlético do indeed take three points, Simeone’s substitutions will almost certainly have played a role – as their winning streak has been fueled from the bench.

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Last Sunday’s game between Atletico and Getafe at the Estadio Metropolitano was goalless at halftime. Atlético dominated the first 45 minutes but failed to convert any of their eight attempts.

Simeone – as so often happens – decided to make a change during the break. Left winger Samuel Lino, who missed two clear chances in the first half, was substituted. Striker Alexander Sorloth arrived and joined Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez in attack as Atleti switched systems.

Ten minutes into the second half, Simeone brought back his son, striker Giuliano Simeone, for Angel Correa – a more equivalent move on the right wing. Shortly afterwards, Nahuel Molina replaced Marcos Llorente at right-back. After just 63 minutes played, midfielder Koke became the number four replacement for Griezmann, which brought with it another system change.

The game was still deadlocked, but not for long. After 69 minutes, Molina’s deep cross was headed across goal by Sorloth and past Getafe goalkeeper David Soria. It confirmed Atletico’s 11th consecutive victory in all competitions, a run not seen since the early days of Simeone’s reign.

“I spoke to the players before the game,” Simeone said afterwards. “There are players who are extremely competitive when they get the chance to come into the game. Llorente and Giuliano came out, Nahuel and Correa continued. Sorloth replaced Lino. Koke came off the bench. That is our strength.”

The numbers prove it. Atletico’s total of 83 substitutions in La Liga so far is not the most in the division (it is the sixth most, behind Athletic Club, Mallorca, Las Palmas, Barcelona and Celta Vigo). But the value they get from their bench in terms of goals and assists is unmatched across Europe.

Atletico’s substitutes have scored 18 goals – 10 goals in the first 17 La Liga games, four in six Champions League games and four more in two Copa del Rey games.

As we can see from the table below, this puts them six goals ahead of Bayern Munich in second place. Atletico’s substitutes have also provided 12 assists in all competitions this season. Their total contribution of 30 goals is far more than any other club in Europe’s top five leagues.

Sorloth’s winning header against Getafe was his fourth goal off the bench in La Liga – no one in Europe’s top leagues has more at home (although Girona’s Cristhian Stuani, Hellas Verona’s Daniel Mosquera and Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran also have four substitutes). All of Sorloth’s goals have contributed to victories – Atletico lost to Alaves and were goalless against Getafe when the Norwegian summer signing from Villarreal took the pitch. He also scored the second goal in a 2-0 win against Las Palmas and the fifth goal in a 5-0 win against Valladolid.

Such comebacks have been a feature of Atlético’s season. Correa has scored five goals as a substitute, two in La Liga and three in the Champions League. Three of them came in stoppage time – including a 95th-minute equalizer at home against Real Madrid in La Liga and a 93rd-minute winner at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, two other games in which Simeone’s team conceded the first goal. Correa’s other two substitute goals also came late – in the 85th and 89th minutes, completing the 6-0 Champions League away win at Sparta Prague.

So many goals from substitutes help Atlético turn things around late on. Only Manchester City have taken more points from behind this season (14, compared to Atlético’s 12).

The most dramatic comeback ever came against Sevilla at the beginning of December. Sevilla were 3-2 up with just over an hour to go when Simeone then cleared his bench – Sorloth, Koke, Lino and Correa all came in before Axel Witsel replaced Clement Lenglet. Lino made it 3-3 with 11 minutes left before Griezmann scored a great winner in the 94th minute.

“Atletico’s substitutes came into the game with so much energy and freshness,” Sevilla coach Francisco Xavier Garcia Pimienta said afterwards. “It seemed like the ones that came on were better than the ones that came off because they basically have two incredible squads.”

Because Simeone has so many options at his disposal, he is very proactive in making early changes, especially when a game isn’t going Atlético’s way.

The table below shows the average length of substitutions in La Liga this season, excluding substitutes due to injury. Atlético is by far the team that plays the fastest with its team: Simeone substituted 17 players at halftime (one per game), which is the league leader. Real Madrid have just made two half-time changes, Osasuna just one.

This means that Atletico finishes games incredibly strongly. Starting from the 60th minute, they have scored 16 goals and conceded just two goals in La Liga games this season. In the last 15 minutes plus stoppage time, they scored 13 goals and conceded just one goal. No team in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more than 11 goals after 80 minutes.

Eleven wins in a row is impressive, as is the fact that he has scored at least three goals in five consecutive games recently. Nevertheless, the level of the opponent should be taken into account.

In their six consecutive La Liga wins, Mallorca have been Atlético’s best-placed opponents, who are ninth in Spain’s top flight. Winning at PSG in the Champions League wasn’t easy, but clear wins against Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava were to be expected. With less than 10 minutes to go they were 1-0 down against fourth division Cacereno in the Copa del Rey before late goals from Lenglet, Alvarez and an own goal saved them from blushes after five changes from Simeone.

So many crucial contributions from substitutes also raises the question of whether Simeone is a master at making changes or whether he keeps having to troubleshoot issues when he’s first selected.

A period of testing of personnel and systems may be expected, given that Atletico invested more than 200 million euros ($210 million; £165 million at current exchange rates) in new players over the summer, including Alvarez, Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winner, and Spain’s Euro 2024 winning central defender Robin Le Normand, England international Conor Gallagher and Sorloth. Long-standing squad members Alvaro Morata, Stefan Savic, Saul Niguez and Joao Felix were all retained.

Simeone’s preferred team is clear. Although he often played three central defenders in recent seasons, he now prefers to start with a 4-4-2. When many players are comfortable in more than one position – including Griezmann, Alvarez, Correa, Simeone, Gallagher, Llorente and Cesar Azpilicueta – it becomes easier to change formations mid-game.

Two 21-year-olds were given leadership roles in midfield. Giuliano Simeone’s infectious enthusiasm and commitment sparked comebacks against Leganes and PSG. Homegrown midfielder Pablo Barrios, meanwhile, has replaced long-time captain Koke as midfield leader.

“The players know that I don’t promise anyone anything,” Simeone said last weekend. “You can see that in Koke – such an important man in the history of our club. He knows that if I need him for 20 minutes, he will give everything for those 20 minutes. That makes me emotional.”

Simeone’s players also have more opportunities to rest due to their busy schedule. Among the top 60 players for La Liga play this season, Barcelona have seven players, Real Madrid three and Atletico just one – goalkeeper Jan Oblak. In the Champions League top 200, Barca have eight players, Madrid five and Atletico three – central defender Jose Maria Gimenez, Alvarez and midfielder Rodrigo De Paul.

This could mean that Atletico are fresher than their domestic rivals in the second half of the season. Barca have looked mentally and physically tired of late, while Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid side continue to suffer from injuries to key players.

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Atlético’s bursts of form in the last few autumn phases have sometimes quickly fizzled out.

Last season they traveled to Barcelona in December on a run of eight wins in nine La Liga games. They were one point behind leaders Real Madrid and three ahead of Barca.

Simeone’s side suffered a dismal 1-0 defeat and the embarrassment was compounded when Felix – then on loan at Barca – proved the match-winner. Within weeks, all hopes of winning La Liga vanished and Ancelotti’s team were on course for the title.

Saturday’s game comes just before the league’s winter break. If Simeone’s new-found squad can help him to his first win at Barca – perhaps with a stunning comeback capped by a late goal from a substitute – Atlético will have full momentum in the title race in the second half of the season.

(Top photo: Sorloth celebrates a goal off the bench against Valladolid; Cesar Ortiz Gonzalez/Soccrates/Getty Images)