Atlético opened its preseason on Tuesday at 20:30 with a closed-door friendly against Getafe in Majadahonda, and the main sight from the night was Hjulmand making his first appearance as a rojiblanco. Simeone used the match as an early test, but it was also a reminder of how unfinished the squad still is.
The coach had ten World Cup players missing, while only one of Atlético's three new signings was available. Barrios trained separately and was a doubt, Lemar remained out, Grimaldo was still on vacation and Kang-in was in Korea handling bureaucratic matters. In that setting, Hjulmand's debut mattered because it came in a game meant to show the first outline of the team rather than its final shape.
Simeone tried one line with Oblak behind Jorge Domínguez, Le Normand, Hancko and Ruggeri, with Koke and Hjulmand in midfield and Carlos Martín, Mendoza, Lookman and Cubo ahead of them. He then moved to another group with Esquivel; Hueso, Boñar, Giménez and Dani Martínez; Cardoso and Obed Vargas; and Iker Luque, Castillo, Arnau and Sergio Esteban. Both looks kept a 4-2-3-1 structure that shifted into a 4-4-2, which fits a preseason plan built around work more than result.
Getafe arrived with more rhythm. Before Tuesday, Bordalás's side had gone three friendlies without defeat, beating Reading 1-0, beating Tenerife 1-2 and drawing 0-0 with Valladolid. The squad also included three new faces: Andrés García, who came from Aston Villa, and Terrats and Jean Ives Valou, both loaned from Villarreal. That matters because Getafe will play its first Conference match on 20 August, so its own preparation is already moving toward something competitive.
The gap in the night was not just who was available, but what could not yet be judged. Atlético treated this as its first real preseason checkpoint while still missing a long list of players, and Getafe came in with an unbeaten run but a squad that still needs six or seven more pieces. The result can wait; the more relevant answer is that Simeone has started the summer with one debut, a patched-together group and a first test that showed how much of the work is still ahead.
