Atleti sinks in Mallorca

And Atleti traveled to Mallorca but it was not wonderful. He drowned with a brick tied to his foot, his own inefficiency, his fate against teams in decline, Cholo’s kryptonite this year. Again at the bottom, first defeat in his League of 14. A blow at that time of the season between the wars, between City and City. But that is precisely what the game in Manchester seemed to inspire Aguirre: his Mallorca came out like Simeone, more containing than attacking. At Atlético, meanwhile, Suárez was removing the mold from the starting bench, Carrasco returned to the left lane and Koke, at the kick-off, seemed like the right side. It could have been a coincidence or a mature idea, to allow Llorente to take a few steps forward. It lasted two plays: what it took for the captain to lose a ball in the area where they should never be lost and Muriqi converted it for the first time, the first for Mallorca.

And that the presence of Suárez at the beginning was a declaration of intent. Mallorca gives up the initiative a lot and Simeone knew it. Mallorca allows you to play almost at Rico’s feet and that is Suarez area. Koke’s starting idea was now executed by De Paul. Because Atleti was looking to enter from the sides and De Paul joined Llorente on the right, to pump gasoline into the ’14’ bike, and It bites the same with Carrasco. Double pairs, Llorente and the Belgian almost extreme. But, except for a shot by Llorente that diverted a rival to a corner, his plan had control but not danger, ball but not depth. And she got tangled up like so many other afternoons, like a ball.

Mallorca, injured by so many goals received, tried to close that wound with the returns behind Valjent and Raíllo. Well placed, the ball barely lasted him when he tried a counterattack. Before Oblak, a red light: Felipe. Perfect in anticipation, the Brazilian’s nerves seem to have gone. The inaccuracies, the ending of games with his shoulders full of splinters because of his crystal solidity, always broken by gross mistakes. Mallorca was blinding the bands, forcing the game through the center. It bites and Suárez turned into two islands, far from everything. Carrasco and Llorente erratic, the rojiblancos making more passes backwards than forwards, very slow. The plan torn to shreds, wet paper on a clear afternoon in Mallorca. Koke and De Paul do not fuel if Herrera is missing.

Lemar put on his shin guards on the bench while Simeone ordered 4-5-1 to look for spaces against. But nothing. Everything stayed the same. No chances or oops. Football further and further away from the areas, another game to sponsor for Danacol, because of the defenses. So many letters to summarize a first part that was actually a blank page. Immaculate. Immense. Maddening. Up in the particular ranking of the rojiblanco Museum of Horrors, which is not exactly empty. When you take away the intensity of Atleti del Cholo, it stays naked, it becomes vulgar.

Not a second in the second half did Cholo wait to make two changes. One, that Lemar that was sensed, glue between the lines. The other, Cunha. Koke and Griezmann went to the shower. João was still watching from the bench as the first shot between the three posts of the match came. It was from Mallorca, by the way. Oliván, a right-footed volley from outside the area that forced Oblak’s lunge. The occasion was like a bugle call that accelerated, a little, but not too much, the rojiblancos’ movements. And yet, it was enough for Suárez to put his head in shortly after to finish off a corner from Lemar. The shot was meek, at the hands of Rico. But news. The first at Atlético’s door. First among the three sticks. Minute 55:30. The clear plan at the start had been reduced to the usual: lateral centers. A second of the hour passed when João was already waiting on the sideline to put his flashlight on the game. With the. Vrsaljko that as soon as he left he saw the yellow card. But it is that the entry of the two coincided with another rain: that of Mallorca. Ora Muriqi, who did not come by a finger to comb a ball that he would have committed to Oblak, ora Kubo, ora Reinildo. And the rojiblanco was the definitive one: a stomp on Maffeo in the area, on the edge but inside, and a penalty. The referee called it, there was no VAR call to take it to the screen, Muriqi took it to the net. Atleti, then, did wake up. Atleti, then, did realize that he had been wasting time for 70 minutes. He tried to push Mallorca against the ropes. But he continued to lack spark, skill, the changes did not change anything, only Cunha tried something.

And Oblak was desperate with the ball boys because they took time to deliver the ball, because the only real danger was still on his goal. But he took a chance away from Raillo while Atleti continued stamping themselves, desperately on the blank sheet of paper that had been his game for so long. And the six minutes of discount went to attend to Baba, knocked out by a pitch in the face of Lemar. He left on a stretcher, with a collar and conscious. But happy under a cry: “Yes you can.” Mallorca comes out of relegation. The real slap is for Cholo. Just before City.