One of the points of Simeone's plan goes through the distribution of minutes between the players. “We need everyone”, the technician has repeated several times. For this reason, between the first match and the second, he made four changes in the eleven; and between the second and the third, seven. And in those rotations, in addition to the vast majority of first-team footballers, The youth squad Manu Sánchez has also entered.
The first squad has 23 members and a slight imbalance: There are three right-backs, but only Lodi is in the other lane. And given the need to give the Brazilian a rest against Valladolid, Cholo declined the usual patches (they are usually Hermoso and Saúl) and chose natural replacement: Manu Sánchez, ‘3’ of B, 19. The Madrid player debuted in the first round against Osasuna (2-0) and also played in the Cup against Cultural (2-1). This Saturday, the mister was delighted.
“Manu played a fantastic game and that generates enthusiasm for the future. He is a very young boy and his work left us with a very good taste. It was very good, clearly, with personality, without fear, with few losses. A very positive image, “said Simeone at the press conference, without even needing to ask for the youth squad. Although the team overturned the attack more by Trippier's gang, Manu gave as many good passes as English (41), with a 89.1% success rate. AND recovered 7 balls, only one less than Thomas and Trippier, the most outstanding in this regard.
He and Toni Moya have been the only ones from the subsidiary who have entered the three calls (Riquelme and Camello did it in Bilbao) and the winger has already had an opportunity. And from what Cholo has commented, it may not be the only one. Lodi is extremely important for Atlético's game, but it cannot be over-exploited to avoid fatigue and minimize the risk of injury. Manu Sánchez offers himself for when Simeone needs him. The Valladolid exam, passed with a grade.