The question going into the second leg of Chelsea vs. Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 was what Diego Simeone would do?

Teams play with certain philosophies, and Atletico's manager had given them a tactical concept that totally backfired in the first leg several weeks ago, so he would have to come up with something new to ensure Atletico would overturn their 1-0 deficit.

From the opening whistle, it was clear they were full of energy – something they were lacking in the first game. They weren't only keeping Chelsea pegged back but were making their own positive movements.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't just come into this game one goal down. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is renowned for his tactical prowess, and he had set up his team to always be one step ahead.

Atletico were set up in a classic 4-4-2 with the intention being to get the ball up the wings to Luis Suarez and Joao Felix up front. Chelsea were 3-4-2-1, meaning Suarez and Felix were always outnumbered; it was about 25 minutes before they started making an impact on the Chelsea defense, and that was because midfielders like Yannick Carrasco and Saul Niguez were moving up to join the strikers.

On one hand, they were legitimately threatening. On the other, every missed attempt was followed by Suarez leading his team in acting hard done by, suggesting that Atletico were still more interested in chipping away at Chelsea than scoring goals against them.

Having so many players up by the Chelsea goal also left plenty of space in the midfield and in the 32nd minute, they got badly caught out. All their players were in the Chelsea half when Kai Havertz made a break, he crossed to Timo Werner who ran a third of the pitch practically unobstructed. Atletico scrambled back but were a step behind and Warner easily crossed it right across the goal to the waiting Hakim Ziyech.

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak got a hand on it; it didn't matter. 1-0 Chelsea, 2-0 in the tie. Atletico responded well and, with hindsight, everyone involved will wish they played like this from the very start. As he half came to a close, the game had stretch and become and end-to-end slugfest; a far cry from the grind of the first leg.

It continued and developed into one of the most exciting toothless games ever played. The weaknesses up front were on full display: excellent build up play from Atletico lead to the feet of Luis Suarez, a threat in La Liga but too old and slow for the youth of Chelsea. It's frustrating to see such a talented player be so unwilling to adapt to the realities of being a striker in their 30s. Going the other way, excellent build up play lead to the still-misfiring Bundesliga exes of Werner and Havertz. Tuchel has totally revamped this side but he still can't turn those two into gunslingers.

This frustrating final stretch perhaps exposed Simeone. With half an hour remaining, he switched Suarez for eight-years-younger Angel Correa. This injection of youth didn't make much of a difference as their game remained built around powering forward, trying to blast through the smarter team and fouling them every step of the way.

This boiled over with less than 10 minutes remaining when Stefan Savic was sent off with a straight red for elbowing Antonio Rudiger in the box. It wasn't particularly hard, it was, however, totally intentional and the sort of vicious play Atletico are known for getting away with. They spent both legs toeing the line and can't be mad about being caught out 173 minutes later.

To add insult to injury, four minutes into additional time, Chelsea caught Atletico on the break once more, and Emerson made it a late 2-0 with his first touch of the ball having come on as a late tactical substitution.

Obviously, the focus should be on the fantastic work Tuchel has done rebooting Chelsea mid-season, turning them into a genuine Champions League contender in the process. That said, it's impossible not to see this as the latest step in the slow downfall of Atletico Madrid.

Since Diego Simeone arrived as manager in 2011, they have won everything on offer in La Liga – incredible considering the collective might of rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid – and won the Europa League twice as well as reaching the final of the Champions League twice.

Since reaching and losing that second final in 2015/16, his side have struggled in Europe: in the past three seasons, they have won three out of seven knockout games and they have played this same tricky, slightly dirty style in each of those games. Either Simeone needs to grow and evolve as a manager, or he has to go.