The selection break will allow Atlético to catch some air and clear their minds a bit before the final stretch. For Simeone, in addition, it is two weeks to work and prop up concepts, although there are eleven players missing. The coach goes around the plan and the way to place the pieces on the field. In recent meetings he has shaken the scheme, from defense, with two or three centrals, to the company for Suárez. The versatility of its footballers allows it to change from one day to the next or even within the game.
Hermoso, Carrasco and Trippier are the chips with which the technician changes the system without retouching the eleven. With those three, you can go from the classic four-defense to the three-center defense with a single command. Against Alavés, as in many afternoons since autumn, the team started with Hermoso as left central along with Giménez and Savic, and Carrasco and Trippier were in charge of the wings. The Englishman, who missed 12 games due to suspension, gave his sixth assist of the course. At times, Hermoso passes to the left side, the Belgian advances his position and the team It becomes 4-4-2 or 4-1-4-1, with Koke as the axis. The versatility of Llorente, Correa, Saúl, Lemar and even Koke himself are a plus.
The sacrifice of Koke and Carrasco
The captain is one of Simeone's essentials. However, with the three-center system your job looks less, though possibly more important. His zone of influence is closer to the beginning of the play than to the end (he only has one goal and two assists) and the task forces him to accumulate kilometers. It is the support that allows attack partners to loosen up. Kondogbia and Torreira, signed for a similar task, do not finish convincing, Saúl is trading down and Herrera is still coming back. Something similar to Koke happens to Carrasco. When he is on the lane, His physical power gives the team a lot of output on that side, but he is further from the goal than when he starts from the center of the field. Maybe it shines less, but it is essential. For the Cholo it is the most reliable for the left. Lodi was a starter in London, but is counting very little even though the coach was confident that this new 3-5-2 would suit him well too.
The drawing with three centrals, on the contrary, has allowed to see the best version of other players. Trippier's seams were seen in defense in the first section of the course, but the three center-backs, especially Savic, let him be somewhat more careless with his back and, in addition, better connect with Llorente, one of the stars of the League. Beautiful, who barely had room at 4-4-2, It is basic now, as he is the center-back with the best ball output. His name rings out for the Selection again. And the big bang has been Lemar, whose performance has exploded as an interior, participating a lot in the creation.
The balance of attacking and defending
But Simeone does not forget the defense of four far from it. In fact, it was what he used in the games before Alavés. For the derby against Madrid he already prepared a 4-1-4-1 (In the first round he started with three defenders and after a while it changed because it did not work), which he repeated against Athletic and Getafe. Against Chelsea it was a purer 4-4-2, with Lodi on the side, Koke and Saúl in the middle, Hermoso and Lemar on the bench … In London, in fact, he changed the plan several times on the fly.
Atlético have reached the break with certain doubts, with cracks in the rear and the feeling that perhaps now they attack better than they defend. The main mission was to bring the team closer to Luis Suárez and him, to the goal. It is also about enhancing the talent of João Félix and a Marcos Llorente who has finished exploding. But without forgetting that leaving a clean sheet brings you very close to triumphs. A puzzle that Simeone turns around and that, match by match, It will lead you to deal with 3-1-4-2, 4-1-4-1, 3-4-3, the traditional 4-4-2 … Atlético has already shown its ability to adapt and overcome the obstacles that come its way.