After weeks exploring the will and quality of João Félix, Simeone wants to find the best version of Portuguese again. And all this with a step forward on the field and also in the dressing room. The game against Chelsea had been oriented to this, and despite not achieving the dream comeback, Cholo has been very satisfied with who has to be his star for quality, expectations and price.
First, and after coming off the bench to play the second half against Getafe, João Félix accompanied the coach at the press conference prior to the match in London. “My relationship with Cholo is very goodHe always tries to help me and we are here to help each other ”, was the first thing he wanted to make clear. To later reaffirm that “The truth is that talent does not come without will. We have many examples of very talented players who lacked something to reach the top and I don't want to be one of them, that's why I try to put my talent and my will to the team ”.
Simeone returned to eleven in a key game and João Félix came out aware of collaborating in the pressure, in the defensive facet and trying to be the differential player in the final meters. Chelsea's defense was insurmountable, Atlético did not find a way to find the weaknesses of a team that with Tuchel has conceded two goals in 13 games. The English countered the red-and-white pressure by taking the ball from behind and returning the game with the very high lines when it was Atlético who tried to play from their defense.
The mattress offensive balance was very poor, with João Félix as the only player who could find shooting options and test Mendy. The international goalkeeper for Senegal only received four shots on goal, the first from Lodi and the other three from the Portuguese, from more to less in difficulty with a good hand in injury time to avoid a draw that would have given Atlético illusions for the final moments. What could not be denied to the ‘7’ was involvement to try to get down to receive and be a support for an overtaken midfield. João completed 30 passes and, as in last season's elimination against Leipzig, he was the player who tried the most to unbalance and seek the rival door.
After the match, Simeone indicated that “It is João's best game since he has been with the team. He is the footballer we want. I am left with the positive things, for my taste João Félix was very good in all concepts, continuity of the game, responsibility for how to play in the game … ”, all support for the 21-year-old player and the coach's way of drawing him a way forward. Cholo wants João Félix to be involved in all facets of the game and for the first time in a long time he gave him a wink of such magnitude. He knows that to recover the brilliance in the League and the solvency in the last meters shown at the start of the season, he needs the best João Félix.
In the last part of the season he has not been well, the coronavirus has also affected his presence in the team and Atlético is currently going through the most complicated moment of the course. It is difficult for him to score goals, the dependence on Suárez is enormous and João Félix has to be the decisive player again in the last meters that he showed at the beginning of the course. In his first 14 appearances of the season, João Félix started eleven and scored eight goals. However, in 2021 he has participated in another 14 meetings, starting at eleven in seven of them and scoring two goals. The '7' is down and the team has suffered. “You have to learn and today is a day of learning,” Cholo slipped after falling against Chelsea. And perhaps the best learning is that Atlético need João and João to join the team to return to being the one at the beginning of the season. The leader that Simeone wanted to glimpse in London and plug in for the eleven days remaining in the fight for the league title.