Atlético is going through a moment of maximum difficulty. He has lost the cushion he had earned with his impressive start to the season and his control and dominance of the games in the center of the field has evaporated. Weak behind, the method of shielding has been close lines around Oblak's goal, retreating to the team and treading much less the rival field.
The rojiblanco team reached 50 points with only 19 games played (only seven points escaped) with a balance of 40 goals for (2.10 per game) and 10 against (0.52 per game). From there it has been marked eleven goals in the last ten games (1.1) and conceding nine (0.9). If Atlético was commanding the games from possession, their midfield He has stopped dominating with the ball and suffers without it. Only one figure is excelling in handling the ball, that of a Thomas Lemar who continues to grow.
The French has gone from less to more this course and has gone from being the nineteenth player in the squad to a full-time starter. Something that has helped him return to the national team and start two qualifying games for the next World Cup (against Kazakhstan and Bosnia). In sevilla, Lemar was the only figure beyond Oblak to hold on to try to grow with the ball in the game. He has gained confidence in his game and is the only one with the ability to protect the ball and try to start the clean play without raffling it.
Atlético was growing from Lemar in the last minutes of the first half and managed to equalize forces in the second, although in the end it was not enough to score in the Sánchez Pizjuán. Turning on its axis and looking at its most liberated companion, Lemar got Atlético to be able to get out of the pressure, in addition to being the first to break down in defense to try to avoid the easy exit of the sevillistas. The French completed 27 passes of the 30 he attempted (the team's best hit percentage at 90%) and won 87.5% of the seven hand-to-hand duels in which he was measured, something that denotes the physical and defensive growth of the French.
With four losses, He was the safest player in the rojiblanco eleven, a figure that has nothing to do with, for example, the 26 lost balls by Saúl and Trippier. In addition, Lemar finished with four recoveries and constantly coming down to receive close to the centrals to give the team an exit when it was suffocated by the dominance of Sevilla. Lemar was being the most successful player on the team in building the game by far, That is why it was so surprising that Simeone replaced him in the 73rd minute after Acuña's goal. He arrived at the appointment after a great effort with his team, having played the 90 minutes against Bosnia on Wednesday, but his change was not beneficial for the team.
However, Lemar once again made it clear that he wants to be the protagonist and he's prepared to have more and more gallons on his team. El Cholo will try to enhance his game, as he is one of the few footballers inspired to generate plays strung from behind in recent weeks. What's more, Against Betis there will be neither Marcos Llorente nor Luis Suárez by penalty, the two most decisive footballers in the final meters. Atlético need to meet again with the best feelings to be able to fight for LaLiga and at the moment they go to find Lemar every time in matches. The Frenchman is becoming the middle light during these dark matches.