Champions with doubts – AS.com

Under the desert sun, in dusty Riyadh, all horn, traffic and glass, the capital of Saudi Arabia will experience the second semifinal of the Super Cup. The current champion, Athletic, against the team that fell between Barça and Madrid in the other Spanish Super Cup in the country, that of Jeddah, in 2020, Atlético, current league champions. One seeks to repeat feat. The other, complete it. Doubts surround both (follow the game live on AS.com).

Because if 2022 had started with a break for Cholo, finally two victories, after four defeats in a row, the match in Vila-real was a reality check: the 4-4-2 to which he had returned in those matches in the air, the defensive fragility back, Oblak increasingly afraid of leaving his goal (and with more goals conceded), the things that do not finish coming out, nothing just worked. The team that not so long ago won matches as a collector of binary codes (1-0, 0-1, 1-0) now needs to score at least three goals to declare itself the winner. His rivals always make him two. This is what happened with Mallorca, Madrid, Sevilla, Granada, Villarreal.

Without Griezmann and what is worse, without Savic, that drop in defense that conditions so much; when he and Giménez played, Atleti did not lose. But, of course, with the injuries and his endless recoveries, which seem to never end, that has hardly happened this season. And with Felipe and Hermoso it is not the same. Atlético will return to the scheme of three centrals. In the minutes in Vila-real in which he returned to it, he improved, he appeared. Three centrals, the ones he has, a captain, Koke, who returns to eleven (and seats De Paul) and Correa and João Félix. At least that’s what Simeone rehearsed before flying. Strap is his Lord Wolf, your problem solver. He has eight goals, in numbers from Suárez (9) and Griezmann (8), demanding minutes, presence, gallons every time he plays (and he does it in his place and not on the band). João rubs his boot and it shines but still does not have continuity, Cholo’s full confidence, with more games in the league injured (6) than in the starting eleven (4).

Marcelino’s options

Opposite, Marcelino. The Super Cup is Athletic’s fetish tournament in the 21st century: it has won two of the last six. This course is having many ups and downs, with ten draws that are taking him away from Europe. Although the last games, with three victories, have given him a break. Without Victor, your guide in the middle, injured, If Marcelino wants to have the ball and play, he will choose Zarraga, if he opts more for him muscle and look for the cons, will opt for Vesga. The precedent this season does not give clues. 0-0. A result that this night is not worth in Arabia. Tonight there will only be one rojiblanco in the Super Cup, Looking forward to the final, on Sunday, against Madrid, for the first title of the year 2022.