Photo by Diego Souto/Getty Images

A poor first half cost the Colchoneros Atlético Madrid were forced to battle back from behind to secure a 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano on Sunday night as a woeful first half meant that they faced an up-hill battle in Vallecas. A rotated side looked off the pace and rusty, with the home side?s intensity and desire getting the better of Atleti.
A slow back line and a lazy midfield failed to keep up with the pace of a Rayo Vallecano counter and Isi Palazón was there to tap in from an Andrei Ratiu cross into the box. Fortunately, Atleti levelled early in the second half as Conor Gallagher swept the ball into the bottom corner, but the Colchoneros were unable to find another way through and were forced to settle for a point. Here, we take a look at some of the takeaways from the game.
There?s such a thing as too much rotation
Of course, this season?s frankly ridiculous schedule means that rotation is unavoidable and Atlético Madrid must make regular changes to their team in order to be able to compete across all competitions between now and May. However, there?s a strong argument to make that Diego Simeone got his changes wrong in Vallecas. Principally, did he really need to change the back-line almost in full from the one that played against RB Leipzig"
Simeone opted to make five changes to his defence, with Marcos Llorente moving into midfield, Reinildo keeping his spot, and the other three starters dropping to ...