12 seconds into the 90th minute, when a tie seemed like the inevitable fate of the match, Antoine Griezmann a pass was invented, Memphis Depay appeared between two defenders and the Atlético de Madrid he emerged victorious from an entanglement against Vallecano Raybetween the protests and the expulsion of Francisco Rodríguez for his claims due to a previous foul by the French international.
A relief for Atlético, who He overcame the fiasco of being permanently left out of LaLiga. A weight was lifted off his shoulders, because he felt restless throughout the match, with fear in his body at each approach of the Rayo at times, at times amidst the anger of a sector of his own public, far from his resounding version of the Metropolitano, where the streak continues: 28 consecutive matches undefeated in their field, 26 of them with victory. And a relief for Simeone, who, suddenly, forgot match by match, dispensed with almost his entire eleven and thought more about upcoming challenges than the most immediate to finally turn to Griezmann, Koke, De Paul and Lino and save a decisive duel on the edge of the fall.
Real Madrid on the horizon, next Sunday, Athletic Club beyondNext Wednesday, behind the load of previous matches and ahead of everything that is coming in a frenetic February and March, Simeone doses his players. “If not, it’s impossible,” he said three days ago. This Wednesday, not even Griezmann started. Neither does Paul. Not even Koke. Not even Lino. Not even Nahuel Molina. The rotation was extensive. It’s true that everyone came in later. Neither Morata, who will be at the Bernábeu, nor were they available. Gimenez, who expects a recovery of at least another two weeks. But the revolution in the lineup was a declaration of intentions with the derby and Athletic in sight, also of starts for less common players.
Rodrigo Riquelme is no longer, starting this Wednesday. For now has lost the competition with Lino. The level of the Brazilian is so high that not even the quality of the overflowing – also intermittent – Spanish international finds a place in the typical eleven. Among his inherent audacity, his contribution was the perfect cross for the 1-0 goal. Reinildostarter for the second game in a row, returned to the eleven last Sunday almost a year after breaking his anterior cruciate ligament at the Santiago Bernabéu, an incontestable element in his defense, was the finisher of the goal that put the local team ahead in an uncertain match .
The duel was not going one way or the other when the score was 1-0 after half an hour, between the details of Memphis, the Correa agitation (he missed a one-on-one and had a goal disallowed for offside, in his 400th game with Atlético) and the imposing ability of Pablo Barrios middle, where its consolidation is already an irrefutable fact.
His level of conviction is as high as he demonstrated with resources like a roulette wheel on his field to leave two opponents behind. Or the pass between rivals to which he continued in an action that ended in a wasted, poorly defined opportunity, by Correa, after passing by Llorente and by Vermeer, premiere at Atlético and at the Metropolitano stadium. The 18-year-old boy signed to Antwerp for 25 million euros, debutant with just five training sessions with his new teammates, in a competition whose dimension is enormous compared to the Belgian tournament, his first commitment weighed on him, imprecise, misplaced at times in the scheme, positioned by Simeone on the inside right. A matter of minutes, work, adaptation, trust and time. At half-time he was substituted.
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Rayo Vallecano had already tied before, in the 42nd minute. Alvaro Garcia He controlled with his right and finished with his left from the edge of the area, out of Jan Oblak’s reach. A good goal. A relief for the team and Francisco, alerted by the offensive difficulties, in the definition, of his team. He had not scored in six of the previous seven days.
Vermeeren out, Nahuel Molina in, Llorente forward on the inside right, the game demanded much more from Atlético. Griezmann, De Paul and Lino were already warming up on the wing, to whom Simeone turned before the hour mark, when he glimpsed a still and worrying draw. Then, Álvaro García headed towards 1-2. The resolution before Oblak failed. Neither Griezmann nor De Paul were doing well., with two concessions that ultimately came to nothing to Rayo, in which Crespo debuted, just signed this Wednesday morning. On the Atlético bench, in the same circumstances, Gabriel Paulista was waiting for his turn, amidst the anxiety of a match to be decided, on the edge of a detail. A goal. Simeone changed Saúl, whistled, to bring on Koke. Another regular starter, on the field.
The threat of Lightning was already evident. Crespo was around 1-2. There was already some anger from the Metropolitan crowd, without seeing a single chance from Atlético in the entire second half, with the danger increasingly visible from the visiting team, with a goal disallowed due to a millimeter offside against Memphis Depay, with the LaLiga already so far away so soon, when the championship’s halfway point is barely crossed, until Griezmann and Memphis They came to the rescue, with a goal practically out of nowhere, on the stroke of the 90th minute.
Datasheet
Atlético de Madrid, 2: Oblak; Llorente (De Paul, m. 57), Witsel, Hermoso, Reinildo, Riquelme (Lino, m. 57); Vermeeren (Molina, d. 46), Barrios, Saúl (Koke, d. 70); Memphis and Correa (Griezmann, m. 57)
Rayo Vallecano, 1: Dimitrievsky; Ratiu (Baillu, m. 65), Aridane, Lejeune, Hawthorn; Isi (De Frutos, m. 75), Oscar Valentine, Kike Perez (Crespo, m. 65), Pep Chavarria; Alvaro Garcia (Trejo, m. 75); Camel (Falcao, m. 83).
Goals: 1-0, m. 35: Reinildo. 1-1, m. 42: Álvaro García. 2-1, m. 90: Memphis
Referee: Soto Grado (C. Riojano). He cautioned the visitors Kike Pérez (m. 38) and Isi (m. 59) with a yellow card. He sent off Francisco, Rayo coach, in the 90th minute
Incidences: postponed match of the twentieth day of LaLiga EA Sports, played at the Cívias Metropolitano stadium in front of 47,003 spectators
2024-01-31 22:09:50
#Memphis #rescues #Atlético #breath
