Atlético will play this Wednesday against Osasuna (22:00) without margin for error. The rojiblanco team was only able to score a point against Athletic and they need to win in Pamplona if they want to achieve their goal of being in the top four. Simeone recovers João Félix for this match once their sanction match is over. We will have to see what Simeone does, although it could put the Portuguese in the lead as Diego Costa's teammate, who played a good game against the Bilbao team.
João Félix has ten games ahead to claim as one of the best players of the league. With Atlético he has played 28 official competition matchesl (20 from LaLiga, five from Champions, two from the Spanish Super Cup and one from the Copa del Rey). He has marked six goals, four in the league championship and two in the Champions League. And given three assists, one in the league tournament, one in the Champions League and one in the Cup. In total he has played 2,114 minutes. João Félix has shown its quality dropper and he has not been able to channel half a dozen games at a high level.
The break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic came at a bad time, since it was at a good level. In February he had lost due to injury the matches against Real Madrid, Granada and Valencia, in LaLiga, and Liverpool, in Champions. He returned against Villarreal, played another half hour against Espanyol and was already a starter against Sevilla, against which he scored a goal. Too He was a starter at Anfield, in the historic game against Liverpool.
Atlético striker remains one of the players with the best value on the market (81 million according to transfermarkt). João Félix signed for Atlético to play the Champions League and these ten league games and the final stretch of the Champions League are important to him. He played a good game against Liverpool and showed that he is ready for matches of that level. Many eyes will be on him in this final stretch of the season. It is vital for Atlético to play at a star level, as a great footballer. The first big test is in a difficult field and against a difficult opponent.