Atlético Istanbul: Champions League Qualification Outlook

And Atlético went to Rams Park in Istanbul with clear ideas and with the objective of having the ball as the best antidote to stop Galatasaray. Julián Álvarez had a first goal, two minutes in, but his shot crashed into the side of the net after a good team play. The one who did not forgive was Giuliano, who celebrated his recent renewal with a header in which ten of the footballers who were on the pitch participated. The Argentine took advantage of a great pass from Ruggeri to overtake the red and whites and silence the Turkish inferno. The match was under the control of a well-established Atlético, very close in defense and looking for recovery after losing against a Galatasaray that there was hardly any news about in attack.

The first time he reached the baseline, Sellai put the ball in the center of the area where Marcos Llorente, in his attempt to clear it, put the ball in his goal. Bad luck for a red and white team that had the game where it wanted until that moment. The duel went crazy and Galatasaray felt increasingly comfortable against an Atlético that suffered the blow. The ball barely passed through the center of the field and the clash was delirious for the enjoyment of the spectators and not so much for the coaches, especially for Simeone who saw that without the ball his team was much more vulnerable and even more so if the always dangerous Osimhen is on the opposing attack front. Atlético reached the area with ease but there they were slow, without verticality and without the precision of the last pass against an increasingly competitive Galatasaray. Sorloth had the second after finding space on a long ball, but his running shot with his left foot reached Çakir after touching a defender.

The break served for Simeone to bring on Baena for Almada – who had several turnovers in the final minutes of the first half – and for him to remind his players that their chances of winning depended on having the ball. Julián, without confidence and far from being the footballer that everyone expects, did not look for a goal and insisted on the umpteenth pass. Atlético was not working and the Argentine coach changed his mind – some may think he went crazy -, reacted and surprised. Koke and Barrios on the bench and Le Normand and Cardoso on the pitch. Llorente moved to the center of the field looking for his arrival with the company of Pubill in that lane. The bet had a gaseous effect and the following minutes Atlético pressed, but Hancko missed the mark with a loose ball in the area. Sorloth, who had been one of the best, made way for Griezmann. The game had changed. Galatasaray had the ball and Atlético looked for the counterattack. And he suffered.

Only in Simeone’s head did the changes seem to make sense, which in addition to disconcerting his team, gave air to the rival. Atlético had lost everything that had led them to control the first half. Fundamentally, the ball. Even so, Atlético came against a Galatasaray that did not even try the gloves of the centenarian Oblak in the Champions League in the entire match. Griezmann put Çakir in trouble with a foul similar to the one in La Coruña, but less tight, and in the follow-up Baena once again made the Turkish goalkeeper the protagonist of the clash. The minutes passed and the red and whites seemed unable to put together plays and clung to the genius of one of the players who were on the field. But none appeared. The one who did show up was Oblak, first, and Llorente, later, to correct his mistake in the first half and allow Atlético to add a point that forces them to win on the last day against Bodo/Glimt at the Metropolitano and keep an eye on the transistors.