Rodrigo de Paul arrives at the Argentine national team… after showing at Atlético his version most similar to the one he leaves day in and day out when he dons the albiceleste. The midfielder has been increasing his performance since the second half of the game against Betis and he has once again gained maximum prominence in the middle of Simeone, very comfortable lying to the right in that trident with Herrera and Koke.
Starter in the last four appointments of the team, De Paul participated in the second goal at the Benito Villamarín with a fantastic inside pass for Llorente to serve the goal to João Félix that broke the tie in a key match for the Champions League. Against Cádiz he would be the author of the winning goal arriving from the second row to take advantage of a rejection by Ledesma and scoring his first goal of the season in the League after making his debut in Porto. And against Manchester United and Rayo, the De Paul that Simeone wants has been seen.
Protagonist with the ball, strong in the pressure, in the melee and moving very well between the lines to generate danger. At Old Trafford, Cholo carried out a fundamental tactical movement, placing Griezmann on the right wing and centering De Paul’s position together with Herrera and Koke to give more presence and numerical superiority in the engine room. The Argentine became strong, he feels comfortable in games with a hard leg in which you have to withdraw and go out with drives or looking for long runs from his teammates and he left a very good inside pass for João Félix on the play of Lodi’s goal.
And before Rayo his most comfortable version was seen. De Paul completed 43 good passes, 26 of them in the rival field, he knew how to damage the rival defense, move ahead of Herrera, breaking lines with the drive, strengthening Llorente on the side and creating a lot of danger from set pieces. With a great pass, he left Griezmann hand in hand with Dimitrievski, who was able to repel the Frenchman’s shot. And, with much more confidence than in previous games, he was also very precise when it came to controlling the ball and gaining meters from those targeted sets.
The break comes when Atlético has rediscovered its essence. Defensive strength, a united block, a lot of consistency in the middle and the feeling that Herrera, Koke and De Paul have been growing game after game. The Argentine is one of the few players who has not had physical problems so far this season and he has participated in 37 games, all of Atlético’s except against United at the Wanda Metropolitano by technical decision, against Espanyol after a long transoceanic trip and in Pamplona through suspension.
De Paul will once again be fundamental with Argentina for Scaloni before Atlético’s final sprint in the fight to get the Champions positions and with the quarterfinal tie of the highest European competition against Manchester City just around the corner. Adapting to Atlético is never easy and Simeone is finding that version of one of the great signings of last summer, increasingly decisive near the rival area. The last week is the way forward for the Argentine. De Paul wants to show that he is here to stay.