He left Athletic to try to send in the field of Spanish. To his usual 1-4-4-2 (Oblak; Trippier, Felipe, Savic, Lodi; Koke, Thomas, Saúl, Carrasco; Correa and Morata), Simeone put an offensive variant in which Carrasco Y Koke they created one more line (1-4-2-2-2), getting inside and ahead of Thomas and Saul, to leave the bands free for the incorporation of the sides, the only offensive option of the Cholo in addition to the direct game of Oblak.
Defensive aids in Atlético failed in Espanyol's first goal already I gave it they made it a two for one of Javi Lopez Y Wu Lei that ended the center of the Chinese who put in own goal Savic. And one more time Oblak was Salvador and prevented the Espanyol from going 2-0 to the break with a hand-held stop changed from outside the area of Victor Sanchez.
Espanyol exceeded the intensity and football Atleti and R.D.T. I was giving a world class super class exhibition and Simeone had to move card and had a bench of 300 million euros (João Félix, Diego Costa, Vitolo, Marcos Llorente, Mario Hermoso and Vrsaljko) to look around the marker because it is no longer worth a draw. To have João Felix on the bench was another stranger frivolity of Cholo (like the ostracism of Marcos Llorente that had gained ownership) based more on that the Portuguese star no longer pays attention to the defensive obsessions of the Argentine coach, which makes its players think of defending even when they are attacking and no longer has everyone convinced as in the golden age of cholismo.
They were already warming Vitolo, Costa and João Félix when Saul dropped a great goal of yours to tie the game. The Athletic it stretched and began to impose its highest quality because El Cholo started the second half with a 1-4-3-3 asking for his squad (Oblak; Trippier, Savic, Felipe, Lodi; Thomas, Koke, Saúl; Correa, Morata, Carrasco). When Simeone entered João Félix he kept the 1-4-3-3 minutes and put the Portuguese on the left. Five minutes later pulled Costa for Morata. And in 69 Vitolo came out on Correa returning Atlético to 1-4-4-2 (Oblak; Trippier, Savic, Felipe, Lodi; Koke, Thomas, Saúl, Vitolo, João Félix and Diego Costa). It was then, in the return to 1-4-4-2, when those of Abelardo, who if they play like this do not deserve to descend, they got back into the game and they could also win the match.
With all the arsenal in the field, Atletico lacked offensive resources to overcome the defense of Espanyol. And those resources are not given Simeone. The draw was a bad result, but as a result of the good work of Espanyol and a new bad weather of the Atleti of a Simeone to which each game is seen more deranged in the band and spread his nervousness to the mattress players.