The jump of Matheus Cunha

Levante will always be a special rival for Matheus Cunha. The front He debuted as a scorer with the Atlético shirt at the Ciutat de Valencia in his seventh appearance under the command of Simeone, all of them coming off the bench and never having exceeded 30 minutes.

Time has passed since that October 28, where what seemed to be Cunha’s winning goal was tarnished by an incomprehensible final penalty signaled by the VAR that cost the rojiblancos two points. In just three and a half months, the Brazilian striker has left beating Simeone, Tite and the mattress fans based on work and performance. Last Saturday Cunha took advantage of his fifth start of the season to score his sixth goal at Atlético, five of them in the League in just 577 minutes played and to which he added two assists (he participated in a goal every 82′).

The ’19’ was the smartest in the area to pick up a loose ball and introduce it into the net, placing a momentary 2-0 against Getafe. Nationality and number is not the only thing he shares with Diego Costa, since it has certain starts and drives reminiscent of Lagarto. Now, Cunha points to keep his place in the eleven against Levante together with Correa, two footballers who are overcoming the enormous competition up front based on meritocracy. With Cunha on the pitch, Atlético he raises his pressure line, he has a more physical and active footballer up front and also a threat to run with meters ahead.

The Brazilian has also been earning gallons with his team. So much so that He has been a starter with Tite in the last three games of one of the great candidates for the title in the next World Cup. Cunha started in the eleven against Argentina, Ecuador and Paraguay and it is becoming more fixed for the coach. Both Simeone and Tite see him as a ‘9’ despite the fact that throughout his previous stage in Europe he had acted as a second-line player. Against Getafe, Simeone lined him up alongside Suárez, dropping more to receive and finding a partner in the Uruguayan at the point of attack.

But Cunha too he has been growing in his movements in the area and has scored two goals in his last two games at the Wanda Metropolitano (He started the comeback against Valencia after a corner). At 22 years old, the Brazilian has been showing game by game that he was a bet on the future, but also with a lot of present. Against Levante he will have a new opportunity to make it clear that his growth has no ceiling.