The draw against Celta left a bitter aftertaste from how it was produced, but does not overshadow the extraordinary moment of Luis Suárez. The Uruguayan is the strongest argument of the leaderNow that, while he does not stop marking, the defense is finding cracks. Casualties are hurting and Atlético clings to their top scorer and his voracious way of life: if they give him balls, he will convert them into goals. On Monday he did his part again.
Suárez finished twice at the goal of Rubén and both finished inside. In the last four games he has scored seven. He has scored against Celta, Cádiz, Valencia and Eibar, and only Javi Gracia's team escaped the double. And with goals of all colors. In this section it has become two penalties, a direct foul and he has shot assists from Llorente (two), Lodi and João Félix. The Uruguayan continues to break records as a rojiblanco, with 16 goals in 17 games Garters (he has lost three, two due to coronavirus and another due to rest) that have him outstanding top scorer (In Nesyri and Messi they follow him with 13) and they are valid for Atleti 12 points In a direct way.
Because in addition to the goals, which is the fundamental mission for Simeone to recruit him, Luis Suárez is a leader in the locker room. The striker has provided an extra ambition and has spread the hunger for the League that he had brought since he left Barcelona to wear rojiblanco. The costumes are delighted with him, with his adaptation and with his role. And it can be more or less accurate, it does not hide when they are badly given. Against Celta, his efficiency served to turn the score around when his team was having the worst. A low ball from the right and a similar one from the left, he didn't need more.
Six goals in 16 matchdays … and another six in the last four
But just like other times his goals have tipped the balance in favor of Atlético, against Celta it wasn't enough. Why the rojiblanco team is suffering in defense like never before. In these last four games, not only are the 7 goals from Suárez surprising. Also that the team has received 6, as many as in the previous 16 days. Eibar and Valencia beat Oblak once, Cádiz and Celta did twice. The reliability is no longer the same and, if before the rivals arrived convinced that if Atleti went ahead there was little to do, now they do not give up. Cádiz pressed until the end and Celta, without besieging, was able to take a point at 89 '.
The team has missed Hermoso, who has been out for two games due to COVID and the Ipurua one was lost due to a sprain. Felipe has not fit in the same in the new Simeone system and it is the shadow of what it was last season. Against Cádiz he was shipwrecked as a left center-back and against Celta more of the same, playing off the expulsion and being substituted at half-time. Oblak, without being much less responsible, is not doing miracles either from other times.
Frights against Celta, Valencia, Eibar …
Another key is in the start of the matches. Until this recent streak, Atleti had only been behind on the scoreboard when visiting Real Madrid. But in the last four games, he has taken three hits in the first quarter of an hour. Santi Mina scored at 13 ', Racic from Valencia, at 11'; and Dmitrovic, for Eibar, in 12 '. The three times he managed to turn the result around, although against Coudet's team he lost the victory in the end. “We cannot afford those goals at the beginning,” lamented Koke in his analysis of the 2-2 with Celta.
The leader has been built from behind, but now the spotlights are being taken away by Luis Suárez, who with his goals pulls the car and, on the other hand, has barely noticed João Félix's downturn. It will be difficult for the Uruguayan to maintain the streak of his last matches, so the team needs to regain reliability that characterized him during the first third of the season. Above all because soon come the calendar curves, with key events such as the Champions League. Clean sheet and that the top scorer catches one. Suárez's supply of balls is working, now it's time to also pull the bolt back …