leash is a blessing

Ángel Correa was once again decisive for Atlético. The Argentine scored a brace against Getafe and his two goals kept Simeone’s team on their feet so that they could win in the end with a goal from Hermoso. Correa started and the Wanda Metropolitano fired him with a standing ovation when he was substituted in the 73rd minute. The striker is already Atlético’s top scorer in LaLiga: he has scored ten goals plus another in the Champions League. And he has surpassed his best scoring figure in the league championship since he was in Spain.

The match started well for Correa, as he received from Manolo the trophy that accredits him as the best LaLiga player for the month of January. And then he was very successful in front of goal. The striker has scored in seven league games: he scored two goals on the first league matchday against Celta. He scored one in the following against Elche, goals that were decisive for Atlético to win those two games. Later he scored against Cádiz, brace against Rayo Vallecano, goals against Villarreal, Valencia and both against Getafe. Ten goals to become increasingly important within the Madrid team.

Correa scored five goals in LaLiga in his first season as a rojiblanco (2015-16): he played 26 games. He had been signed a year earlier, in the 14-15 season, but he underwent a complicated heart operation and was unable to make his debut until the following year. In 2016-17 he scored four goals in 31 league games; in 17-18 he made eight in 37 games; a year later, at 18-19, he stagnated and scored three in 36 games; in 2019-20 he scored five in 33 games; and in the last campaign he was decisive for Atlético to take the title: nine goals in 38 games. In this he already has ten.

Simeone was delighted with his player’s performance at the press conference: “Angel gives you life. It’s all heart and we need you. How many? How much does the team need? It generates good things. We feel identified with a player of this type. It is the year that he has scored the most goals in LaLiga and that generates growth in a player like Correa who has had a hard time. No one has given him anything.”

Correa has played 312 official competition games with Atlético, with 57 goals and 47 assists. He is in 29th place with the most matches played with the rojiblanca. He has two to Perea, another player who made history in the entity. Filipe Luis, with 333 games played, is in 20th place. Season after season, year after year, game by game, Correa is establishing himself in the top players of the Madrid club.

At the age of 26, he renewed his contract with Atlético until 2026. He has a market value of 40 million euros and has always felt very identified with Atlético, his club since he arrived in European football. Winner of a Europa League, a European Super Cup and a League, for Simeone and his teammates, Correa is a blessing. And for the rojiblancos fans, who love him like few others. The Argentine now only thinks about Levante. In winning and in continuing to increase his scoring figure.