Jose María Giménez: fourteen minutes, ten games later

Anfield's game was heroic, the pass to the quarterfinals and also a return: that of José María Giménez. The Uruguayan central defender returned to play, fourteen minutes, ten games after the last time. In a season in which he has returned to live a particular 'via crucis' with injuries he returned to the team after 108 days without playing. Eight league matches (in three he was already on the bench, Valencia, Villarreal and Seville), one of Champions (the first leg against Liverpool in which he was also on the bench) and the Copa del Rey (Cultural). The forced stoppage of competitions due to the coronovirus finds Simeone with his four centrals healthy again, ready to play. Since the Spanish Super Cup in Arabia that did not happen at Atlético.

It was Giménez's comings and goings to the infirmary that had prevented him. Savic since recovering from the relapse of his leg muscle injury has not been injured again, he has played twelve games uninterruptedly (in León he was a substitute), layered in the eleven as a partner of Felipe, the central most used by the Cholo this season, 2,791 minutes. He is, in fact, the Brazilian, the third field player (behind Saúl and Koke) and the fourth in the team (Oblak) that has played the most. Available for all games, zero injuries, absolute forcefulness, even taking away from Giménez that poster that seemed to belong to the Uruguayan with the departure of Godín: defense chief.

Alarms in Liverpool

A Giménez third captain but at the moment 'central room' in the distribution of minutes because of those damn injuries who have come back to haunt him (four this 2019-20, two muscular, with a relapse of one of them in between which ostensibly lengthened his return, trauma and knee discomfort): Mario Hermoso, who when Savic's injuries coincided and Giménez fulfilled whenever he played, He has played 188 'more minutes than he, 1,485 in total, for 1,297 of the Uruguayan. A Giménez who in the pre-match session at Anfield turned the alarms back on: he sprained his ankle, his presence was endangered on that round of 16, which was a final. Simeone, who had taken all the footballers of the first team to Liverpool, nevertheless included his name in the record of 18 footballers to play it, the Commander would comprise of the bench for the battle of Anfield, and in minute 105 of the overtime his number was on the poster of the fourth referee, entered through Correa, finally returned to football. Fourteen minutes, ten endless matches later.