João Félix is in flight. The Portuguese has taken a step forward since the start of the season and he is getting the continuity in his game that Simeone asked so much of him. In five days, the '7' has left two phenomenal performances, especially in the Champions League against Salzburg, and has been decisive in the final meters with two consecutive doubles.
In total he has five goals in eight games and made it clear that El Sadar is a prolific stadium for him. If last season he got his first double as an athletic man in the Osasuna fiefdom, yesterday he repeated the performance with another two goals and the sensations that when he comes into play he always proposes different things and improves the rojiblanco's attack. “Last year we commented on some words, such as transition, that were surprising and, with time and believe it, it is happening in him “ Simeone explained at the end of the meeting.
And in that transition he has gone through finding his ideal situation on the pitch and the confidence to feel like the leader of the project. João Félix has located his zone of influence as a second striker pulled towards the left wing, where he can exploit his dribble and overflow to enter inside with a shot with his natural leg. Before Osasuna he had to exercise at certain times as a point reference, since the absence of Suárez and Costa left the team without '9'.
But he was not daunted, he won more than half of the 13 duels in which he was measured with the red defenders and practically every time the ball passed his feet he was accurate (28 passes of 31 attempted, 90.3% correct). He also looked for goal with four shots, two from the penalty spot, where he assumed responsibility by scoring the first and throwing the second at the post. Later he would round off his game with a right hand from outside the area to overcome Herrera, once again showing that has a great complicity with Correa.
More goals
João Félix has been reinforced by a more offensive football in this second season at Atlético. With Koke in the middle, the team generates more offensive play and frees up a spot on the wing for a more upright footballer like Correa, Llorente, Carrasco or Vitolo. In total, the team has achieved 16 goals in eight games, figures much higher than last season. And almost half have had a capital participation of João Félix, who to his five goals adds two assists.
From the first match against Granada, the Portuguese made it clear that this season he wanted to be the protagonist. About to turn 21 (on the 10th), He has managed to make the brushstrokes that last season arrived every many minutes now to be constant. The Golden Boy has plenty of talent, but he has gained in confidence, in participation and in hitting the target. If last season he scored 9 goals, a figure far from the 20 achieved a year earlier at Benfica, in this one it already amounts to more than half when we have only been in competition for just over a month. Now visit the Lokomotiv, team against which he debuted in Champions (He would also score in the return leg), with the clear mission of continuing to grow in his game as one of the most decisive players in LaLiga.