With Saúl, Atlético already has five penalty shooters

He stopped ball It is one of the fundamental aspects in the world of soccer today. A team that masters this type of play has many more chances of taking a game than another that does not have this tool. Since the arrival of Simeone, Atlético can boast of being one of the best clubs in the championship when it comes to working and executing the strategy. Thanks to her, he conquered the Copa del Rey title of the 2012/2013 season at the Santiago Bernabéu against Real Madrid with a goal from Miranda in extra time and also the League with the goal of Godín at the Camp Nou to tie against Barcelona and proclaim himself champion.

A fundamental aspect to be able to take advantage of the stopped ball is have specialists in its execution. All teams routinely appoint players to take charge of both fouls and penalties. In the case of mattresses, It is usually the captain, Koke, who is in charge of the free kicks, who has been joined by a specialist like Trippier this course. However, the same is not the case with regard to penalties. Until now, Atlético have been given 10 maximum penalties in favor of all competitions and they have been thrown by up to five different players, with a balance of seven scored and three missed.

The last to join this list was Saúl Ñíguez, who scored two shots from eleven meters against Barcelona in the game last day 30 at the Camp Nou (2-2), after Diego Costa had failed the first one who sent the referee to repeat because Ter Stegen had gone ahead, who saw the yellow. Before him, they had executed a penalty Morata, Diego Costa, João Félix and Trippier. It is surprising that the theoretical specialist in set pieces (Koke) has not thrown any in the entire season. Last year the indisputable pitcher mattress penalties was Antoine Griezmann, He launched and scored three of the four penalties that were awarded to those of Simeone, while Saúl shot one and missed it, although he scored the rejection (against Leganés on March 9, 2019).

The ones who have thrown the most penalties this year are Morata and Diego Costa with three each. In the case of the Madrid striker he scored two (against Sevilla in LaLiga the 7 of March and against Barcelona on January 9 in the Spanish Super Cup held in Arabia) and missed one (against Getafe in the league debut on August 18 last year). For his part, Lagarto's tip also scored two (against Alavés on June 27 and against Valencia on October 10, 2019, both in LaLiga) and he missed one (against Sevilla on November 2 of last year in the domestic competition).

Next on the list is Saul, with the two he threw and scored against Barcelona on the last league game. Penalty shooters chapter closed João Félix and Trippier with a maximum penalty each, although with mixed luck. The Portuguese striker scored the only one he threw (against Lokomotiv Moscow on December 11 in the UEFA Champions League), while the English winger missed the one he executed that same day.