Oblak: Very attentive to the arrivals of Mallorca, which forced him to act in well centers or distant shots from Kubo. He had in Giménez his guardian angel, avoiding multiple shots with his body. Zero goal with several arrivals, but without excessive work.
Trippier: It was the English's turn in the alternation on the right side with Arias. It had less prominence than the left wing, mainly in defense since Mallorca regularly looked for their right wing. He has a great movement of the ball to the space between the central defender and the rival winger. Well when it appeared in attack, lavishing itself much more in the second half with intelligence.
Savic: Return to eleven after completing a penalty match at the Camp Nou. Well above, with peace of mind to guide your clearances looking for the best placed partner. It is at a good level and with the confidence of Simeone. He is very well known with Giménez.
Giménez: Hermoso and Felipe's injuries prevent him from rotating, but he is huge. He has started six of the seven games in the comeback, playing another 30 minutes against Levante after starting from the bench. Very attentive in aid, mainly to Manu Sánchez when he was overtaken by Kubo. A wall to block rival shots and all without having seen any yellow throughout the championship.
Manu Sánchez: New opportunity for the youth squad, who has established himself as an alternative to Lodi. Very daring in attack, did not stop raising band. From an internship looking for Pozo's back, Atlético's first goal was about to be born, receiving a great pass from Saúl, controlling in the area and putting Morata a little high for the auction. Good to look for Carrasco between the lines. In defense, he did suffer a lot, since Kubo looked for him insistently and the Japanese came out on top in most duels, forcing Giménez to act. He left replaced at the time of the game by Lodi after continuing to have problems with the Mallorca player.
Saul: Without Thomas, the ‘8’ started the game accompanied by Koke in the middle acting as a pivot. At anchor, very attentive to the rival arrivals, he put a fantastic ball for Manu that came close to leading to a goal. He saw his ninth yellow in the League and left substituted in the 80th minute to take a break and avoid the red. Lots of dark work in between.
Koke: The captain started at the double pivot with Saúl. It is essential to speed up Atlético's game. In the middle it participates more. The second mattress goal was born from his theft, recovering very high and giving Llorente perfect to the space for the center of the ‘14’ to Morata. When he was replaced, Carrasco started playing on the left wing to try to help Manu Sánchez stop Kubo, managing to lower the appearances of the Japanese and more with the entry of Lodi. He achieved the third goal with a nice shot, although key deflected by the defense to enter. He is not the most attractive player on the team, but he can be the most important.
Llorente: Back to the right wing to exploit its power and speed output. It is very fine, when it starts there is no one to stop it. What's more, there are times when he runs out of passes for going faster than his teammates. Intuitive to get ahead on the divided balls to start the counterattack. He gave Morata the second goal with a perfect cross, tense to the far post to be pushed by the '9' after a combination with Koke. The extreme soul has been born to him. With the changes, he returned to his original position in the double pivot with Saúl. It looks less there, although it played an important role in containment.
Morata celebrates his goal with Llorente, with the assistance of '14'.
JUAN MEDINA (REUTERS)
Carrasco: Very incisive, he is in great shape and is a new player since the break, much more participatory and unbalanced. It appears between the lines and is undetectable for the rival behind. Great drop for João Félix who could not convert the Portuguese. Simeone replaced him in the 53rd minute after two consecutive starts, perhaps for Koke to cover more of Kubo's band.
João Félix: Back to eleven up front, he's so lacking in that confidence that Carrasco and Llorente now have. With the point of view deviant, he had two very clear plays to score, but he did not decide well in the hitting, a strange thing in the Portuguese that usually stands out for his good shot, but he left deviant. He left substituted in the 53rd minute, although he had been treated for the ankle minutes before the start of the second half.
Morata: A very important double to gain confidence after the bad return to the competition of the break. He took a penalty out of his sleeve after beating Sedlar very well and forcing him to knock him down in the box. He failed the first and scored the tenth goal in the league to repeat. The eleventh minute would come later, again overtaking Sedlar with a good uncheck and pushing the great center of Llorente. Against Mallorca he was faster than in previous games, playing very well on his back and leaving some important technical detail, with controls and a good heel for Carrasco that led to a goal occasion. He is still missing the excess of plays in offside. He said goodbye to the game in the 61st minute with his duty accomplished.
Changes to stop Kubo
Vitolo: He entered forming a point of attack with Morata and later with Costa, in a more advanced position. He played well with the body to open cleverly to the sides.
Belt: He is having trouble getting back into shape on the return to competition. He played well with Trippier, looking for the opening to the English band and throwing the uncheck to space to receive in the area. He is not fine in the turn so characteristic to dribble the rival with control and there he suffers, losing many balls in the final meters.
I gave it: He had an hour off, but Manu Sánchez's problems with Kubo led Simeone to introduce his starting winger. He was about to make a real goal, but his shot hit the crossbar. His entry coincided with a lower participation of Kubo, without stopping for offering to attack.
Diego Costa: Usual change between Morata and the Spanish-Brazilian. He saw a yellow that will prevent him from being against Celta. He sought to combine with his teammates in the area in a generous way instead of finishing, but he lacked the precision to get the assistance.
Thomas: Last minutes for Saúl to reinforce the environment and prevent Mallorca from getting into the game. Energy for the last minutes of the match.