Simeone was clear about his plan against Chelsea. The first, not conceding a goal. For the coach, the double value of the goals at home in the event of a tie carries a lot of weight and he understands that not receiving at home is a plus. This was the case in many other previous qualifiers. But this time the team was on a defensive losing streak, so he shielded his team a bit more. Thus, on many occasions He was seen defending with a 1-6-3-1 that was widely commented on in networks, both for the athletic and for the rest, very surprised by what they understand as excess of respect.
In that first line ahead of Oblak they were located, in addition to the three centrals, Llorente who started as a winger / right winger, and Correa and Lemar to close by the wings. In this way, in addition, he tried to stop Chelsea from the outside, since one of his greatest dangers comes with Marcos Alonso and Hudson-Odoi, that open the field very well and arrive. The reality is that Atlético, especially in the first half, dried up the team quite well blue.
The problem came when the rojiblancos tried to attack. The team used to recover far behind, far from Mendy, something that Luis Suárez especially suffers, who 70 meters from the rival goalkeeper is less a footballer. João Félix, Atlético's most sparkling footballer, had to exercise as an interior in that second line that Tuchel's set was pushing back, with Jorginho and Kovacic commanding.
Giroud dynamited Atlético's plan
The 1-6-3-1 generated debate on the networks. Most of the comments, for accusing Simeone of “ultra-defensive “ despite playing at home. It is not the first time that the Argentine builds that wall when the rival shakes. He did it, for example, against Sevilla, a 2-0 in which the Andalusians barely intimidated. Against Chelsea, the plan was blown up with a goal from Giroud after a poor clearance by Hermoso. The dilemma is transferred to the return, with Atlético forced to win to pass: Will Cholo opt for a similar scheme?