EI Atlético faced the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 with four very important casualties. Koke, Cunha and Wass occupying the infirmary and a Yannick Carrasco who cannot be in any of the matches against Manchester United nor in a hypothetical first leg of the quarterfinals. The Belgian left Porto expelled for a direct red card and once again UEFA showed its harshness with Atlético sanctioning him for the next three games in the competition. Simeone loses a fundamental piece in the team, probably the most unbalanced player of his and one of the few who has managed to shine with his own light so far this year.
In the quest to see the glass half full, The best news for Cholo is to have Carrasco rested and in full condition for the LaLiga challenge, which is not minor at all. Atlético is risking its presence in the next Champions League and the Belgian is key to achieving it. He missed the games against Getafe and Levante after contracting the coronavirus again, but he was already able to participate in Pamplona against Osasuna after having a negative PCR since the day before the match. And Cholo did not hesitate to introduce him to the eleven despite the fact that he had only trained once with the group in the whole week.
Now, Carrasco has had seven days to prepare and appears as a fixture to receive Celta. The Belgian received the prize for the best Atlético player in January, curiously the month where Correa was the best for LaLiga among all the squads. “We know the goals we have as a club and what the fans expect. We have to continue on United’s path. we have to get pointsis essential to achieve what we want in the remaining 13 games”, indicated Carrasco at the trophy presentation.
The top assistant of the squad with six goal passes (the same as Lemar) and three goals, will have to channel the disappointment at not being able to help his teammates in the Champions League, further amplifying their leading role in LaLiga to finish in the top four. Since his return from China in January 2020 he has been gaining relevance and after being one of the great highlights last season in the league title, Now he will once again be one of the leaders to try to achieve the key objective for Atlético’s economic solvency.