Diego Lopez: The goalkeeper again made a remarkable match. Safe from above and on exits, also in reading the area as some interior passes that he intercepted, he was unlucky in Carrasco’s 1-0 by deflecting the ball with the lower part of his arm but it was not enough to avoid it. He had no more problems thanks to a concentrated defense and an Atlético without ideas, although he took a shot from Carrasco with poison with his last breath with his right foot, and could not do anything on the penalty.
Oscar Gil: In the surprising defense of five that Vicente Moreno raised, the winger played more protected but he had to deal with Lodi and Lemar, an unbalancing duo. He saw a yellow and, with discomfort, he was substituted at halftime. Before him, he was surpassed in many moments although he competed well, except for his technical errors in the controls that led to several losses.
Calero: The centre-back had to deal with Joao Felix in the first half and held him back so much that Simeone substituted him at half-time. Only the Portuguese escaped him in a long pass from Kondogbia in which he did not measure well. In the rest of facets, the man from Valladolid was at a high level since he became the starting player.
Sergi Gómez: He returned to the team after being a substitute since February and showed a good competitive level. The Catalan central defender played in the center of the defense supported by Cabrera and Calero, he was confident in the air and with the ball. Good return to the competition.
Cabrera: The left-handed center-back starred in another of the returns to the rojiblanco stadium, and he did it with good grades in an Espanyol team that defended well. Although his first great action was a header that Oblak deflected, later the Uruguayan became one of the dominators of the area and life insurance in offensive actions.
Vilhena: He played for the first time inside, as an interior, released. The Dutchman intervened more in the construction of the game, but he was not decisive nor did he manage to filter with the attackers. A sterile party in the line of his last.
Keidi Bare: He contained Atlético’s attacks well in the first half, solidary in the effort and without significant losses in the creation of the game. After the 1-0 he ended up being replaced by Morlanes. It wasn’t the best match for the Albanian when he returned to the Atlético stadium, but he did as usual.
Sergi Darder.
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno
darter: The best about the Wanda. Of the two teams. Fajador in defense and differential factor when the ball passed through his boots. In the first half he got a yellow card from Felipe after a masterful drive in which he left behind three athletes; in the second half, he was 0-1 before Carrasco scored, but Oblak was decisive. He assisted RdT on goal and was responsible for the 1-1 foul that ended with Kondogbia being sent off. A physical and technical power.
RdT: A not very brilliant match for the striker, who has not been in recent weeks, after the shoulder injury with the National Team, although he scored the 1-1 free-kick with the help of Oblak. The striker had another goal action from Darder’s pass that Oblak disrupted. He made unusual technical errors, although he went from less to more in the match. However, his participation is tainted by that penalty that did not appear in the repetitions although RdT confessed that he could touch him in the hand.
Handful: He got tired of running the whole match. Press, cover and ask for the ball between the lines. His effort was key so that Espanyol did not lose the competitive pulse, although he lacked more freshness in attack to do damage from the second line with his ability to detect spaces.
Aleix Vidal: The entrance of the lateral in the rest unbalanced Espanyol. The action of 1-0 showed the double face of him. Although in the previous play he gave Darder a goal assist with the vision of the game, after he did not interpret his position to defend Carrasco and they won his back. Subsequently, he suffered until Kondogbia’s expulsion. Then, Atlético attacked less, although preferably on his side.
Morlanes: It gave criteria to the game, the attacks were more orderly. The midfielder received a yellow card at the end of the match for stopping a Griezmann counterattack.
Melendo: With Kondogbia’s expulsion, the context of the match was the right one for Melendo, who, like Morlanes, helped Espanyol to have balls and tried to filter balls in depth.
Wu Lei: He asked for four balls into space, and found the play but could not solve it maliciously.
Didactic: With Pedrosa’s injury, the left-back, who is barely playing a role this season, played the last few minutes. He saw a yellow card in an incomprehensible spike with Llorente.