Atlético suffers a lot but does not fail

Atlético are in the last 16 of the Champions League thanks to their victory in Salzburg. He achieved it by suffering a lot at the beginning and wasting maturity in a second half where he locked himself in his plot. Hermoso scored the goal before the break that gave the Madrid team peace of mind. The Cholo team did not fail in the decisive match and continue ahead in a competition that motivates the Madrid team a lot.

Atlético suffered a lot in the first twenty minutes against Salzburg and it reminded us of times gone by, of matches like against Liverpool, for example. In LaLiga no rival had demanded so much from him. The Austrian team came out determined to score a goal soon, just as their coach had announced in the previous one. It was not a hesitation. Salzburg locked Atlético in their area at a start in which the rojiblanco team did not resemble the one we are accustomed to. The rival put one more gear, pressed, was aggressive in each action, in each play, in each dispute, opened up the field, leaped up … Berisha sent the stick after two minutes and Oblak had to take a saving hand to Szoboszlai's shot. It was necessary to pass as the arreón of the Salzburg and Atlético made those minutes eternal. Even Koke lost a ball in the center of the field, the kind that he never usually loses, and caused a very dangerous counter from the rival.

The siege did not last long because Atlético understood that they were either putting the batteries or they could have a really bad time. Atletico's first great possession came in the 23rd minute and ended with a shot off Marcos Llorente. But that action was a before and after in the development of the first half. Atleti has already started to be Atleti. He began to control the ball, possession, opened the game on the right, with Trippier and Marcos Llorente, and João Félix went down to receive between the lines. Koke and Saúl settled down and the defense no longer had so much trouble on those balls that Salzburg looked for behind the rojiblancos centrals. After half an hour of play, Koke stole a ball in the Salzburg area and Llorente enabled João Félix, but the goalkeeper avoided the goal. The Austrian team no longer felt so comfortable, although they remained aggressive, making fouls, some as absurd as the kick that João Félix suffered on a safe ball near a corner.

The foul was masterfully taken out by Carrasco and Hermoso, with a header, scored the goal that Atlético needed. A Hermoso who had already been used well in defense and whose long shot was used by Atlético to find the exit when the rival pressed the most. The stopped ball took a team out of a hurry that went from less to more. In previous Champions League matches, Atlético had problems with the goal and did not beat either Lokomotiv or Bayern at the Wanda Metropolitano because they were not right in front of the rival goal. At Red Bull Arena he had a couple of chances and scored a goal.

The second half started similar to the first, with two clear chances for Salzburg. Szoboszlai got between the rojiblancos centrals and his shot was glued to the post when the goal was already called. The play was a warning for Atlético to understand that there was still a lot to play for. The rojiblancos withdrew waiting to hunt some against. It is not Suárez for games like this, but Marcos Llorente and Carrasco are footballers whose speed and overflow hurts opponents. Atlético sought more to Madrid, who with his gallops shook the rival's dominance. Simeone removed Saúl and Luis Suárez (neither of them was very amused by the change) to put Herrera and Correa and Atlético already controlled the game.

Salzburg had the ball, but Atlético already managed the 0-1 well. Those of Cholo closed their plot well, although Salzburg wanted to die in the Oblak area. The 0-2 was a great goal, with a manual counter with the assistance of Correa for Carrasco to certify the pass to the second round of the Champions League.