Lemar, the award for work

The Athletic fell in Cornellà after a first half where the team had not found the ways to harm Espanyol, He looked uncomfortable, blurred and far from his best version. But Simeone had an ace up his sleeve, rather three, returning to a recognizable plan with the entrance of Lemar, Kondogbia and Lodi at the end of the break.

And all three fulfilled their role. Kondogbia gave packing, strength, positioning, pressure and ball delivery to the team, Lodi depth returning to a defense of four and steadily rising from the side and Lemar broke the match with his ability to skip lines through driving, search for the best placed partner and activating Carrasco by focusing his attacks on the left wing. The Frenchman had started the season in a remarkable way, growing strong in midfield and becoming an untouchable for Simeone. In the league debut he assisted Correa to open the scoring against Celta and against Villarreal he was the most outstanding player of the match.

But the stomach flu who suffered with the national team and the entry of Griezmann in the eleven with Correa and Suárez relegated him to the bench for the first time, leaving his position as third midfielder discovered. “He had a digestive problem with the national team and lost three kilos. Then he trained, I had doubts and I did not start. I was thinking of recovering it better for Wednesday, “explained Simeone after the game. Finally, only could save 45 minutes, because the game called for much more play and presence in the rojiblanco half and with Lemar and Kondogbia the second half was the opposite of the first.

The rojiblanco '11' grabbed the ball and began to create danger. He was about to score with a left foot from outside the area that brushed the stick, got the tie taking advantage of a center in Llorente, but it was annulled after the referee's visit to the VAR for a positional offside by Luis Suárez and achieved the 1-2 in the 99th minute after combining with Carrasco and kicking right in possibly Atlético's last chance to clinch victory. That confidence to play the last ball of the game and hit with the less skillful leg is one of the great leaps of Lemar in the last year. He has faith in his game and has grown a world.

The Frenchman had already hit the stick in the duel against Villarreal and with his goal he has equaled last season's league scoring figure, a progression close to the key rival area for Simeone. “He gives everything, hopefully he can repeat. That is the player we went to look for when he was in Monaco. He works, he has a good punch, he is dynamic, he is a very important piece that grew last year, but he lacked goals. Hopefully that is added, “added Cholo. And that's what he's doing.

In total, Lemar completed 32 passes of the 35 he tried (91.4% correct), where 26 of them were in the rival field. More good shipments than Carrasco (27), Griezmann (17), Suárez (9) and Correa (14) among others despite playing only 45 minutes. A good display of gallons when entering and calling for the ball at all times. Lemar does not want to lose the gap that has cost him so much to get at Atlético.

It took time to find his place on the grass Simeone never lost faith in him, he kept betting on him and finally last season he found that position to connect to the center of the field and the forward thanks to adding a lot of work to his quality with the ball. Without raising his voice and training after training, he has increased his benefits, his stripes and the love of the fans. He was missing the goal for details, but in Cornellà he had the award that he was so deserving with a golden touch at the last minute. The best Lemar asks for a step in this Atleti with so much offensive level.