If Koke appears in a rival field, Atlético is happy. The mattress captain is the team's thermometer, the conductor who is sorely missed when he's gone and that he has returned from the break caused by the coronavirus health crisis, eager to appear near the rival area, where he does more damage to the rival.
The '6' curdled a fantastic game at El Sadar for Atlético to meet again with the victory as a visitor in the League, something that had not happened yet in 2020. Living history of the club, with its ownership against Osasuna reached 309 matches in the competition as rojiblanco, beating Arteche to position himself as the fourth Atlético player with the most League games, a figure that only improved Enrique Collar (339), Tomás Reñones (367) and Adelardo (401), the great goal of the midfielder who is still 28 years old.
And also, Koke has returned from the break with the clear mission of recover your connection with Diego Costa. The one that served to sign the equalizer in San Mamés, with a wonderful pass from the vallecano between Yeray's legs for the good definition of '19' before Unai Simón, and that he was close to paying off against Osasuna where Rubén had to intervene to stop Costa's left-footed shot. In total, in 157 games the Koke-Costa society has generated 23 goals for Atlético.
In recent games, a Koke with a lot of freedom of movement in attack. Without renouncing his defensive work displaced to the side, when Atlético starts the game with the ball, the captain is seen going down to receive, but also coming into play a lot in the mid-point area exchanging his position at El Sadar with a João Félix who also sought to enter the game shifted to the left.
That's where Koke is most dangerous, with that ability to make the last pass that has made him the medium with the most assists since 2010. Against Osasuna he completed 39 passes out of the 46 he tried (84.8% correct), the holder with the best passing percentage, and during the start of the game he was omnipresent. The rojiblanco lighthouse was a light for each partner. Koke tilted the game to the left wing, forming small associations with Lodi and João Félix, two of the most outstanding players of the match and with Costa ahead as a reference shooting unchecks.
He also knew how to complement himself very well with Héctor Herrera, that he was distancing himself to space when Koke came to the short and that he went down to receive when the Vallecano waited closer to the rival field. Simeone, who suffered greatly during her absence in January, knows that finding Koke near the rival area is a capital factor. so that Atlético can have more speed and depth in the last meters and this is what is happening in their last appearances. If the captain directs, the ship arrives safely.