Villarreal shows against Atlético that they are very serious

The Metropolitan opened its doors for the first time this season for a game of real luxury. There was expectation to see the duel between two teams with very good feelings, both from the preseason and the start of the League, and the show did not disappoint. It was a train wreck with alternatives, chances galore and tension, which ended up defining Nahuel Molina’s unfortunate debut in the Atletico fiefdom and the quality of Yeremy Pino to take advantage of the Argentine winger’s mistake in the 0-1 play. Then Gerard Moreno’s sentence would come, with Atlético overturned and Villarreal flying with spaces, and an epilogue too murky for the size of the match.

The start was already brilliant, with a save from Rulli to Morata although the striker was offside, but he did not have continuity in the first few minutes. Villarreal’s mattress withdrawal and possession of the ball, the planned script, although slowly. Lo Celso, a differential player, was the first to revolutionize the duel with magnificent driving. He won meters from the Argentine left-hander and leaked the pass to Yeremy Pino, with his sights diverted to finish.

Atlético lacked a little step forward and Simeone claimed it from the flank, without his men finishing finding a way to reverse the increasingly pronounced yellow dominance. Oblak dressed as a hero to avoid the 0-1, with a hand down to Capoué’s shot after several balls rejected in the athletic area. The Slovenian also aborted a shot from Lo Celso. And it is that the mattress team was late to the pressure and suffered before the associative capacity of a comfortable opponent on the green.

Little of Lemar, very little of Joao Félix. Just a Koke center combed by Morata at the hands of Rulli. Disturbing sensations for Atlético in the first half, even more so after a long pass from Parejo, which Foyth extended into the red zone so that Gerard Moreno ran into the crossbar. Then the Spanish international finished off the net, but after having touched the ball with his hand. Once again, Atlético got rid of a goal from Villarreal that was deserved according to what was seen.

Joao Félix’s talent was the key to changing the landscape. So much so that a couple of details from the Portuguese were enough to generate another sensation. Morata headed soft again for Rulli and the truth is that Atlético left their best minutes of the opening act just before the break, at least sweetening the sandwich for the mattress parish after many minutes to the slipstream of a very good Villarreal.

Atlético returned to the game with the firm intention of gaining meters and being more of a protagonist with the ball. As a result of this step forward, he found a good opportunity to get ahead with a shot by Nahuel Molina that missed the baseline after hitting Morata’s body. However, as the minutes went by, Villarreal settled to become the owner of the game, in the style of what happened at the beginning. Bad news for Simeone, who turned his approach around by including Griezmann and De Paul in the equation and thus renewing his interior profiles.

chaotic ending

The move gave Atlético something more, as Griezmann reflected with a long shot very close to the post, but Cholo redoubled the bet with the fresh blood of Correa and Cunha for the last 20 minutes. The Argentine overflowed on the right wing and the Brazilian ran into Rulli at the moment of truth. It was time for the Metropolitano to argue and just when it looked best for Atlético, the quality of Yeremy appeared, portraying a serious defensive error by Nahuel and finishing to perfection to cool the boiler.

After resisting, when they were at their best, Atlético found themselves with a blow, but had the nerve to get up. Between the crossbar and a miraculous hand from Rulli they avoided the tie. On the same line, the Argentine goalkeeper denied a goal already sung by the stands, which, due to the lack of goal-line technology in the League, determined a frozen millimeter image.

There the athletic hope faded, which insisted on the final stretch with more will than arguments. Commander Morales was able to sentence the match with spaces, as he likes. Also Gerard Moreno, who ran into a more than meritorious retreat from Reinildo just before signing the final 0-2. It was a chaotic epilogue, clouded with several cards, the expulsion of Nahuel for attacking Baena and the row between the mattress fans and the yellow striker on account of the interpretation of a celebration directed at the camera and not at the stands.