Matheus Cunha has put the Atlético fans in his pocket. A player who, beyond the success of face to door, from the first day has brought an energy, intensity, speed and spark from which the team is suffering so much and he always has a good gesture for his new public.
The Brazilian, who at 22 is probably having less prominence than he has earned on the pitch, He has never put on a bad face and has also earned the affection of the locker room. But, what’s more, he has always wanted to leave a message of encouragement, a word of encouragement or even for forgiveness when things have not gone well for the team despite the fact that it is a newcomer and is far from being one of the culprits of the red and white punctures. He is also a regular at the microphones at the end of the duels, showing personality despite his youth.
And his way of entering the matches also conquers Simeone. Cholo knows that whatever the minute, Cunha is going out to eat the grass. And if at the start of the season his appearances on the pitch almost always coincided with improvements in the result for Atlético, against Valencia it was once again the capital. Cunha entered in the 57th minute with 0-2 on the scoreboard. He was accompanied by his compatriot Felipe in a tactical move that was difficult to digest, since Lemar and João Félix came out. However, Simeone had a clear idea. Cunha with Suárez to add troops in the area, Correa in second line, Carrasco on the left and a line of three centrals with Felipe closing with Giménez and Hermoso with freedom of movement going up the side to double Carrasco.
And the first time he had, Cunha took advantage of a corner taken by the Belgian to awakening hope with a 1-2 that brought the rojiblancos back to life. Atlético did not give up despite the minutes passing and the Brazilian interspersed his movements with Correa behind Suárez to confuse Valencia’s central defenders. Nearing the 90th minute, a center by Carrasco with the outside for Suárez ended in a poor clearance by Jaume and a goal by Correa, another player who always revolutionizes from the bench. And right after, Cunha recovered a divided ball, gave way behind to Herrera, who found Correa on the inside and he found the Brazilian with a beautiful backheel. Cunha seemed to want to define directly with a shot, but he finally got an assist for Hermoso to leave the three points in the Wanda Metropolitano.
And with the score 3-2, Cunha put his effort so that Valencia could not climb lines easily, pressuring the central defenders and preventing them from driving easily to the rival field, one of the keys why the che had turned the 1-3 of the first round until they tied in the discount. Cunha left as one of the heroes of the comeback and managed for the second time to finish with a goal and an assist coming off the bench (also in Cádiz). Total, the Brazilian accumulates five goals, four in the League and one in the Cup and three assists. In that role of substitute striker, has surpassed the contribution of the past course of Diego Costa and Dembélé together (The Spanish-Brazilian scored two goals).
Fixed in his national team, Cunha continues to grow at Atlético. He has played 623 minutes as a rojiblanco since his arrival from Hertha Berlin and is the eighteenth player in terms of participation in the squad. But he is knowing how to wait for his moments, taking advantage of casualties in attack and is responding with energy and being decisive in the final meters. With an ascending level and with the clear idea of win minutes in the competition with Suárez, Cunha was once again one of the best news for Atlético.