Carrasco, giant on the left

Carrasco has recovered the status that only the recent muscular ailment made him give up at Atlético. Since he returned to competition in June after the break, the Belgian has been in the group of the untouchables of Simeone, and only injuries and breaks like Mestalla have taken him down from the eleven. With one system or another, Carrasco (27 years old) has become the owner of the left wing, from where it is being decisive. Without going further, it was against Valencia and Barça. Going further back, it was in its day against Bayern, a rival that brings back fond memories of the past. Everything indicates that today he will be the master of his flank again.

Against Barça, Simeone surprised with a script in which Carrasco acted as a lane. That is, in defense he formed on the line of five with the mission of covering Dembélé. The Frenchman left him twice, but with a couple of adjustments and the help of Hermoso became strong behind. “My position was a bit defensive, but I adapt …”, he confessed later. And in attack he ended up solving the game: Correa sent him a long ball and Carrasco got rid of Ter Stegen with a pipe with the great spur to score from 30 meters the goal of victory. It was what he was missing, decisive goals.

A week later, at the Mestalla, he did not score, as none of his teammates did. The 0-1 came from his own goal, but the play on the left and the pass to the small area that ended up inside were his doing too.

Mario Hermoso covers her back

Both with the 3-5-2 and in the classic 4-4-2, Carrasco is Cholo's favorite option for the left wing, where he has tested Saúl, Vitolo, Lemar … The system of three centrals demands more from the Belgian on that side, although the presence of Hermoso serves as a cushion to go on the attack. In fact, that lane position is the one he usually plays in Belgium with Roberto Martínez, so it doesn't feel so strange.

With Carrasco so established in the team and with such an important role, comparisons are made with the Carrasco from the previous stage. It is said that he is a more committed and disciplined footballer on the field, because the one who left in 2018 also decided games. For example, he did it in an Atlético-Bayern, also in the Champions League group stage, in 2016. Carrasco made it 1-0 with a good cross shot, impossible for Neuer. In the historic semi-final in Munich, a few months earlier, the Belgian was not decisive with goals, or even a starter, but his entry after the break greatly improved the face of a team that had been overwhelmed in the first half by Bayern.

Tonight he will have a new challenge and top-level opponents for his band, probably Sané and Sarr. But Carrasco is one of the mainstays of this Atleti and knows how to be decisive on big dates.