Valencia 0 – Atlético de Madrid 1: Rarer than a green hair

Marcos Llorente did not want to, but there he was again, as a boy for everything on the right side, the position that Atlético decided long ago to neglect. Saúl didn’t want to either, and telling the boss cost him a year of exile in London, but there he was again, as a boy for everything on the left side, the position where Atlético is now determined to punish the hearts of its fans (Reguilón arrives today). Samuel Lino, who he did want, Simeone bounced him first and without looking on loan towards Mestalla, and there he was, on the far left trying to hurt the team he thought he had signed for. The strange things of a news that gave content to the meeting before even starting, deformed by a large number of casualties in both elevens (Nahuel, Savic, Hugo Duro, Paulista, Beñat…) and still threatened by a capricious transfer market and insatiable (Valencia announced the arrival of Cavani minutes before blowing the referee).

When the game began, the eccentricities derived in normalcy and logic, the return to day to day. A Valencia with a desire to play and dominate, a desire for the ball, attack and good taste, the Gattuso stamp (contradictory to his legend as a player). And an Atlético with little interest in possession, thrown back, bored, busy protecting their area and not granting spaces and forgetful about their obligations at the other end of the field, Simeone’s stamp (consistent with his biography as a footballer and coach ).

Valencia did a lot of damage on the wings, especially their right, which Thierry and Samu Castillejo tackled, including Musah. An insistence that did not translate into clear opportunities and that, however, did get a well-deserved reward in the form of a goal. of great goal Or so it seemed. Because Musah’s long shot that pierced Oblak (23′), allowed by Cuadra, was later censored by the VAR, which warned Joao of a clear foul at the origin of Diakhaby.

The shock temporarily woke up Atlético, who answered with two poisonous counterattacks. But when he struck, it was, already back to the dominant script, with a clearance to nowhere by Giménez that became an assist to Morata, who was knocked down by the braves by the last man, Thierry: red (42 ‘). Or so it seemed. Because Cuadra’s first impulse (what a day) was correctly corrected later by the VAR. The danger was not that bad. Valencia reached the break with the entire team and the scoreboard unharmed (miraculously, because Mamardashvili took Morata one-on-one, after a gift from Joao, at the last minute).

The second part, despite the fact that Simeone hinted at a step forward with the entry of Carrasco for Saúl, kept the guidelines of the first. With less impetus for Valencia in its initiative, yes, and less vertigo for Atlético in its occasional responses to the counterattack. The same but with more aroma of a tie, to leave things as they were. Even Cuadra stopped finding complicated actions that would force him to back down.

About game time, Cholo took a new step forward (Griezmann and Lemar for De Paul and Kondogbia) and this did produce accounting benefits. With a lot of luck. In his first robbery and driving, as soon as he left, Lemar looked for his green-haired compatriot, who controlled and finished off. The ball tripped over Soler and disoriented Mamardashvili. Goal.

An unfair outcome on points (despite the final avalanche of red and white chances), but which rewarded the occasional accumulation of talent on the red and white side. It is always easier to find the goal the more good players play.