Atletico's season falling apart after consecutive losses to Real Madrid and Barcelona

MADRID (AP) — In just a matter of days, one of Atletico Madrid’s most promising seasons turned into great disappointment.

Playing well and with confidence, Atletico looked poised for a deep run in the Champions League, and was holding steady at the top of the Spanish league, in position to fight for both titles.

Then came a pair of setbacks, both at home and in heart-breaking fashion. First it was a penalty shootout loss to Real Madrid in the round of 16 in the Champions League last Wednesday, and four days later a 4-2 defeat against Barcelona in the Spanish league after Diego Simeone's team had led 2-0 midway through the second half.

Simeone was left searching for answers for the team's sudden struggles, and looking for ways to put it back on track for what is left of the season.

“What can we do?” the head coach said. “On Wednesday we get back to training, with the same motivation as always, with the same spirit, and accepting that it is what it is.”

Simeone wasn't giving up yet on the title race in the Spanish league, but Sunday's loss meant that Atletico fell four points behind both Madrid — which won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday — and league leader Barcelona, which has a game in hand and can potentially increase its gap to Atletico to seven points.

“Barcelona has an important advantage,” Simeone said. “We have to be realistic, but we will keep going match by match until the end.”

Atletico looked in control against Barcelona at the Metropolitano Stadium. But Barcelona was able to equalize with goals six minutes apart in the 72nd and 78th minutes, and got the victory with a pair of goals in stoppage time.

Against Madrid in the Champions League, Atletico looked in position to finally end its long slump against its city rival in the competition, but it couldn't come through a penalty shootout despite playing better during most parts of the tie.

In the shootout, a rare double touch by Atletico forward Julián Álvarez while taking his penalty led to yet another elimination.

Simeone didn't want to blame his team's defeats to bad luck, though he acknowledged that it played a part. He also noted his side needed to be more assertive at key points in matches, especially when it was playing better and could have sealed victory.

Against Barcelona, Simeone took some blame by saying that he should have made a change quicker than he did, adding defender José María Giménez sooner into the game.

“When we went up 2-0, I should have added Giménez earlier, before they restarted the match,” Simeone said. “But they restarted and scored the first goal, and then came the second.”

Simeone defended his players, saying they "have given it all, they have always competed and the fans have recognized that.”

Atletico visits Espanyol after the international break before hosting Barcelona again in the second leg of the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, a competition Atletico hasn't won since 2013, not long after Simeone took over.

The teams drew 4-4 in Barcelona in the first match last month, when Atletico was losing 4-2 until the 84th. Madrid and Real Sociedad are in the other semifinal, with Madrid having won 1-0 away in the first leg.

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Atletico Madrid's head coach Diego Simeone sits on the bench prior to a La Liga soccer match between Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Atletico Madrid's head coach Diego Simeone sits on the bench prior to a La Liga soccer match between Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi, left, challenges Atletico Madrid's Alexander Sorloth during a La Liga soccer match between Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Atletico Madrid's Rodrigo Riquelme, bottom, falls on the pitch challenged by Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski during a La Liga soccer match between Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Atletico Madrid's goalkeeper Jan Oblak, left, dives but fails to save the goal from Barcelona's Ferran Torres during a La Liga soccer match between Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Another storm system is affecting millions of people in the middle of the U.S., leaving parts of the Midwest and Great Plains under blizzard conditions and a broad swath of neighboring states at risk of high winds and wildfires.

Roughly 72 million people were under a wind advisory or warning Wednesday, with winds gusting over 45 mph (72 kph), according to Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center.

At this time of year, cold air lingering in the north collides with warm air coming in from the south to produce strong, low pressure systems, Jackson said. But Wednesday's weather is the third storm system to rapidly develop in recent weeks and bring high winds to a large swath of the U.S., a “very active pattern" since February, Jackson said.

At least 42 people died over the weekend when dynamic storms unleashed tornadoes, blinding dust and wildfires — leaving behind uprooted trees and flattening hundreds of homes and businesses across eight U.S. states in the South and Midwest.

A band from southwestern Kansas up to central Wisconsin was expected to see as little as 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow or as much as 1 foot (30 cm) Wednesday. Combined with high winds, forecasters warned of whiteout conditions.

The Kansas Department of Transportation closed more than 250 miles (402 kilometers) of Interstate 70 from the Colorado border east to Salina, Kansas, because of winter weather.

The first stretch to close — 39 miles (62 km) between Goodland and Colby in western Kansas — was also impacted by last week's high winds. Eight people died after a dust storm resulted in a pileup of 71 cars and trucks.

Blizzard conditions early Wednesday led to near-zero visibility in south central Nebraska, the state patrol said in a Facebook post urging people to stay off the roads. More than 160 miles (257 km) of Interstate 80 cutting east from Lincoln west to Lexington was closed. By midday Wednesday, nearly 70 miles (113 km) of Interstate 29 running along the border between eastern Nebraska and western Iowa had closed. Stalled cars, jackknifed semi-trailers, crashes and downed power lines contributed to road closures throughout the area.

Power outages affected households and businesses as heavy snow and high winds knocked down tree branches and led schools to cancel classes. Roughly 50,000 customers in Nebraska were without power Wednesday, as were roughly 25,000 in western and northern Iowa.

The sudden storm left many in the region with weather whiplash, following a springlike Tuesday with temperatures in some parts reaching beyond 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius).

Where it's not snowing, there are still very strong winds. Gusts combined with dry conditions from Texas and Oklahoma up through Arkansas and central Missouri bring the potential for wildfires.

"Before plants are growing,” Jackson said, “there's a lot of dry fuel out there.”

The fire threat ramped up Tuesday and persisted Wednesday in the region, with renewed risk in parts of Oklahoma still reeling from an outbreak of wildfires that started Friday. More than 400 homes were severely damaged or destroyed, and at least four people died due to the fires or high winds, including a person killed in a vehicle accident as a result of poor visibility due to dust or smoke, officials said.

The Texas A&M Forest Service reported Wednesday that they responded to 14 new wildfires Tuesday that burned 18,518 acres across Texas.

One fire near Borger, Texas, in the state's panhandle cut power, led to evacuations and threatened 1,201 homes late Tuesday, according to the city's post on Facebook.

“Through quick response and collaborative effort from many departments around our region, the fire remained outside of the City limits, and we did not lose any of those 1201 homes,” the city said Wednesday.

As of early afternoon Wednesday, that fire, originally spanning 350 acres, was an estimated 500 acres and 50% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

The massive walls of dust that forced highway closures and resulted in power outages across New Mexico on Tuesday have blown through, but forecasters are warning that wind speeds will pick up and relative humidity levels will drop, making way for critical fire weather conditions on Thursday.

Fighting 50 mph wind gusts, crews worked Wednesday to build fire lines and mop up to keep one blaze near the small community of Mayhill from growing. The threats from two other fires elsewhere in the state had passed, forestry officials said.

The potential for severe thunderstorms plagued central Illinois Wednesday afternoon with risks of hail, strong wind and tornadoes. Much of Illinois and Indiana were forecasted to be under slight risk, with lower risk further south through the Tennessee Valley.

Jackson said the storm affecting much of the U.S. Wednesday will send a cold front across the eastern seaboard later Thursday, bringing a renewed low pressure system with the potential to dump heavier snowfall in higher elevation parts of New England.

Fingerhut reported from Des Moines, Iowa. John Hanna contributed from Topeka, Kansas.

This image provided by Nebraska State Patrol shows vehicles stopped on the highway during blizzard near Gretna, Neb., on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Nebraska State Patrol via AP)

This image provided by Nebraska State Patrol shows vehicles stopped on the highway during blizzard near Gretna, Neb., on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Nebraska State Patrol via AP)

The streets are covered with snow after a storm on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Margery Beck)

The streets are covered with snow after a storm on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Margery Beck)