Atlético will travel to Lisbon tomorrow to face next Thursday the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Leipzig. PCR tests confirmed that Correa and Vrsaljko are the only footballers affected by the coronavirus and the rest of the expedition will move to the Portuguese capital with the great dream of obtaining the title.
Without the Argentine or the Croatian, Simeone has 21 players from the first team available, with the doubt of a Thomas who suffered a muscle micro-tear in the last game. But also, fourth homegrown players will complete the call for 25 Cholo players. Now that five substitutions can be made during matches, a goalkeeper, a defender, a defensive midfielder and an attacking player from Atleti B reinforce the mattress team in case they have to end up being a resource for Cholo.
They are Alex dos Santos, Manu Sánchez, Toni Moya and Riquelme. The Brazilian goalkeeper has not yet made his debut with the first team in an official match, but it is the third goal for Simeone and a regular in training with Oblak and Adán. The other three have had the opportunity to play under the Argentine coach. Manu Sánchez has established himself as Lodi's substitute left-back and with his three starts after the break he has accumulated 446 minutes this season. A great performance that has helped him to be more and more protagonist.
Toni Moya is a resource for the midfield who he can also play as center back, something that Simeone already resorted to last season. The Atleti B captain always shows character, strength and intelligence from his youth. For his part, Riquelme is pure talent. He had a great preseason, made his debut on matchday three and has been under Simeone all season, although playing with B.
The four joined the training sessions of the first squad on the return of the vacation days that Cholo gave them after concluding the League. Dos Santos, Manu, Toni Moya and Riquelme they had participated in the promotion playoff match against Sabadell, where the second team from Atletico fell on penalties despite the goalkeeper saving two. Four players fully trusted by the coach and who have been showing him all season that they are prepared in case they have to be resorted to in the last resort.