An Athletic of two faces. It is the sensation that Simeone’s team left, showing much more comfortable when looking to attack with the ball, with the combination of his players on the offensive plot, but he suffered a lot at the beginning of the game very far behind and with many defensive doubts until he woke up with a 0-2 on the scoreboard. When the team had achieved the feat of match that handicap with almighty Liverpool, an unfortunate move by Griezmann that caused his expulsion with 39 minutes to play and a mistake behind Hermoso with a very silly penalty They led to the defeat of the team despite having left a great image.
That disproportionate and incomprehensible burden from the Madrid central defender to Diogo Jota was not the only rojiblanco failure in the rear. With Savic sanctioned and injured and Giménez coming out of some muscular problems, Simeone had to move his pieces to try to fit Kondogbia in the line of three centrals. But that rear formed by the usual pivot, Felipe and Hermoso began very nervous, badly placed and not very forceful in the clearances. Liverpool’s second goal emerged from a bad hit by Felipe, with a ball very well hooked by Keita without letting it fall. The rest of the team did not help either on the defensive plot, allowing Salah to leave Carrasco, Lemar and Koke very easily to hit the front and after touching Milner to open the scoring very early. Moreover, Cholo was preparing a modification of his entire rear with Lodi ready to replace Kondogbia at 35 minutes until Griezmann put the tie and the change stopped until the break, when Giménez replaced the midfielder.
Liverpool did not need to generate just arrivals to score three goals. Oblak watched in disbelief as a ball pumped without apparent danger led to the penalty that Salah converted by deceiving the Slovenian. If Liverpool had nightmares about his performance at Anfield in 2020, this time he could barely intervene and it was Alisson who was designated as the MVP of the match after having thwarted several attempts by Atlético. When the rojiblanco team seemed knocked out and made a flank back, in attack they began to string together plays from find Lemar, see the growth of João Félix, De Paul, Carrasco and Koke and the great movements of Griezmann as a false ‘9’. The Frenchman had time to score two goals before being sent off and enjoyed a heads-up after a great delivery from De Paul that he failed to convert against Alisson.
Nor did Carrasco hit the Brazilian goalkeeper again, assisted by the Argentine in a play that It would have meant 3-2 minutes before the French red. Lemar was another of those who tried Alisson’s gloves and João Félix was able to score after a fantastic control in the race and a left-footed shot that ended up saving the goalkeeper in two halves. If against Barcelona the best version of the Portuguese had been found, also against Liverpool he left minutes of great level, asking for the ball, assisting Griezmann in the second goal after a great individual action and wanting to be the protagonist. Atlético’s attacking players connect, begin to meet and feel comfortable, but the good offensive level was insufficient due to errors and an atypical defensive weakness in Atlético, but which is becoming a more common evil this season, when the rojiblanco team has gone out several times asleep and not very intense until being punished for it.