Thomas Lemar was one of the players who could have left last summer. Atlético needed to get a player to make money and the Frenchman was on the starting ramp. Wanda Metropolitano praised the quality of the midfielder perhaps to try not to further devalue a player who had not performed at the Madrid club all that was expected. Finally he did not go out and Simeone continued to have at his command a footballer who has not yet gotten the performance he can. Against Valladolid Lemar scored again. He had not scored since April 20, 2019 (2018-19 season), in a match against Eibar. Last season he didn't score any goals.
Long time for a player with his quality. The game against the Valladolid team was perfect for Atlético: the Madrid team took the three points and recovered Lemar, one of the winners of the night, for the cause. The other was Marcos Llorente, every day with more weight at Atlético. There are triumphs that have great significance and the one achieved against Valladolid is one of them. The player did not come down with criticism either. At the conclusion of the league match, he commented that he accepted them and that they are part of his job.
Lemar, 25, ends contract with Atlético in June 2023. It cost $ 70 million for seventy percent of his pass, a significant figure. Now its market value is 15 million, well below what Atlético paid. Its beginning was spectacular, as it dazzled in the European Super Cup match against Real Madrid in Tallinn. The Cholo They beat the eternal rival 2-4 with Lemar doing mischief. Afterwards, little else was heard of him. This year he has gone from less to more and in the last games he has seen a player with spark, with faith, asking for the ball and having weight in the games. Against Valencia, on the previous day, he was already the best.
There are several causes for this Lemar mutation. It is true that Simeone always had faith in the French. In the press conferences he praised his quality and “what a good player he is”. Despite not finishing starting, Cholo always hoped that he would bring out the football he has inside. Lemar has played all LaLiga matches, except two (Huesca and Villarreal). Before Osasuna or Barcelona his presence was testimonial (four and six minutes). Against Celta, Valencia and Valladolid he did play for more than an hour. Against the Pucelano team he played 77 minutes, his record of participation in LaLiga this season. He is clearly gaining weight in the team. The load of the calendar also contributes to this. Atlético plays Champions on Wednesday and Simeone left Koke, João Félix and Marcos Llorente on the bench. In the Champions League he has played every game, although with little participation.
Simeone has also defended that Lemar trains very well. True. There is no complaint with the French in this regard. Quite the opposite. There are players who train wonderfully and then fail to hit the mark in matches. Lemar has been one of them. In the locker room, however, everyone was happy for Lemar's goal against Valladolid, with which he took off a weight. Lemar did not throw in the towel either and in the dressing room they know that he is a player who can help the team a lot. Simeone always highlighted his personality from him. He always tries, whether it turns out right or wrong. He makes a mistake in the pass, but on the next play he asks for the ball and tries again.
The rojiblanco coach, on the other hand, has been alternating positions with the French. In the first half against Valladolid, Atlético put Correa and Luis Suárez on top, assisted in the half forward by Lemar. Then the Frenchman was always in contact with the ball, near the ends. In the second half the team changed their way of playing and Lemar went to the left wing. In the previous league match he was also one of the best in Valencia, against a team that closed very well on their plot.
The main thing for Atlético is that everyone is plugged in. Hermoso, Herrera, Lemar … players who in theory came out at the start of the season with fewer options that the others have performed well and Cholo has a choice. For the Atlético coach, it is a luxury that he can leave some of his best players on the starting bench. In his third season Lemar seems ready to explode.