EI Atlético landed in the hot afternoon yesterday in Riyadh and João Félix focused the spotlights on a mattress expedition that seeks to win the first title of the season. Simeone’s men will face Athletic tomorrow in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup in which they can be the closest option to lifting a new trophy after the crooked start of the course.
And for this, the capital of Saudi Arabia received with honors and enthusiasm a player who has before him the opportunity to show that he knows how to take a step forward in the burning moments. Its evolution is ascending (chosen by the fans as the best mattress in December) and even though the coronavirus was a new stone in his path, By preventing him from playing against Rayo after his great performance in Granada, against Athletic he could regain his place in the starting eleven in a life or death match.
According to the last proof of Simeone in Madrid, the Portuguese would take the lead alongside Correa, the player most inspired by that start of the year 2022 and probably the entire season. El Cholo will carry out his last test today already in Saudi lands (19:30, local time) to confirm the feelings of that forward, without a fixed reference, but with a lot of quality to receive between the lines and a return to the 5-3-2 that so many joys gave last season. Without Griezmann, who relapsed into the Cup from his injury, and with a Luis Suárez who continues without finding the sensations of last seasonIt is the moment for João Félix to be able to be the protagonist and assume the stripes that he has requested in great detail in his latest performances, but without achieving the continuity and productivity that Simeone demands of him.
For the moment, the ‘7’ mattress continues to make it clear that it has a lot of quality and flashes of world stars, but he is also the striker who has had the least direct participation in the team’s goals. He has accumulated three goals and two assists, due to the nine goals and two passes from Suárez, eight goals and five assists from Correa, eight and three from Griezmann and four and one from Cunha. This season against Athletic he experienced one of his most frustrating actions, when they stopped him once more with lack (He is the most punished player per minute in Europe according to Besoccer data) and He ended up getting expelled in his protests. In Riyadh he has before him an opportunity for revenge and an ideal showcase with a title at stake. It is their moment.