Atlético continues to show its power from the bench

Few teams have benefited more from the going from three to five changes during matches than Atlético. The rojiblanco team has a vein in its substitutes, capable of changing the script of the matches by leaving in the second half and with the mission of supplying a revolution and a breath of fresh air for their teammates.

A general trend that exploded throughout last season, where 20 of the 68 rojiblancos goals were scored by players off the bench and that this course has started on the same path. Simeone knows he has a gold mine on his bench, with many variants that in many cases makes it difficult to know the status of several players between substitutes and starters. But also, El Cholo has specialists to revolutionize encounters going out to face more tired rival defenders, as it happens with Correa, Llorente or Carrasco.

The Belgian made his debut as a scorer this season taking advantage of the rebound from the crossbar after a magnificent shot from João Félix, another player off the bench, to sentence Celta with a subtle header. In Balaídos, Atlético was reunited with victory and also with the goal, after having fought with him in the games against Huesca and Villarreal. On the first day I had arrived the scoring festival with a 6-1 victory over Granada in a match where the rojiblanco bench once again showed its voracity. If the match seemed sentenced with the goals of Diego Costa, Correa and João Félix, between Luis Suárez and Llorente they finished finishing it off. The Uruguayan scored his first two goals with the red-and-white jersey and left a great assist to Llorente, who later returned it to him. A total of four of the eight goals scored by substitute players.

Key in Champions

Now, Atlético returns to the Champions League, where the players coming off the bench were a fundamental pillar to reach the quarter-finals and to have options to eliminate Leipzig (They made six of the team's 13 goals in the competition). In the group stage, Herrera put the tables in the match against Juventus after the Italians went 0-2, but the rojiblancos ended up managing to salvage a point. Also in the Wanda Metropolitano Morata would make the winning goal against Bayer Leverkusen with a header coming off the bench.

But its relevance would grow even more in the knockout rounds. Against Liverpool the three rojiblancos goals that left a game for history made them substitutes. Llorente with his double and Morata with the sentence for an unforgettable 2-3 for the rojiblanca parish. In rooms João Félix's entry would change the dynamics of the team, reaching a draw through the Portuguese player himself from the penalty spot, although it would finally be insufficient to defeat Leipzig and advance to the semifinals. A bench with which Simeone plays and that is a fundamental piece in matches, since on many occasions they get stuck until the entrance of someone who can revitalize the attack. Your strength will be put to the test at the Allianz Arena, what may be the most complicated scenario in European football today. So was Anfield and the colchoneros substitutes managed to turn it around with a magical night.