Griezmann Rescues Atlético at Riazor: Match Report

Atlético, aware of the importance of the KO tournament as the most affordable option to win a title this season, jumped to Riazor with a very recognizable team, practically starting in any League match. Llorente, Baena and Julián Álvarez put on their overalls to defeat an inferior rival and fulfill the obligation of sustaining the red and white illusion in the KO tournament, something that was going to cost blood, sweat and tears.

The reborn Deportivo did not make it easy at all, which dreams of achieving at the end of the season a return to First Division that has been longed for for eight long seasons – four of them in the bronze category. The Galician team faced a duel that was more exciting than transcendental with tweaks, as some of their regulars such as Yeremay, Loureiro, Villares or Luismi rotated, but they competed beautifully.

Riazor dressed up. And in the A Coruña venue, a famous venue in Spanish football, Atlético had not played since November 2017, more than eight years ago. They did not win there from 1999 to 2008, very different times for a Dépor that fought for titles and for a colchonero team that suffered the hell of the Second Division between 2000 and 2002.

Faced with a two-time cup champion in 1995 and 2002, Atlético was serious from the start. Dominating staging by the colchoneros, with a header from Julián Álvarez. However, Dépor was not intimidated, well backed in a high-tempo duel, enlivened by Ruggeri’s shot at the post, unusual in the vicinity of the rival goal.

The passing of the minutes diluted the interesting athletic beginning, until a scenario of better sensations for the blue and white side. Too much traffic jam at Atlético, obsessed with the center, with very little presence of the wings against an armored Dépor. A header from Herrera, saved by Musso, set off the alarm in the team led by Simeone, who reacted and got closer to the goal through a long shot from Griezmann, deflected with difficulty by Parreño, but did not overcome the notable Deportivista resistance until the break.

a flash

The restart came with a scare for Atlético, who breathed with Musso’s quick reaction after a shot on Zakaria’s turn. The start of the second half was not good for the Colchonero team, increasingly doomed to a night of suffering to move forward in the Cup.

As things were still not clearing up, Cholo pulled Sorloth, Barrios and Almada, giving up another very gray version of Julián Álvarez. In those, and as the hour of play passed, Griezmann distilled a good dose of that quality that resists the passage of time with a flash that relieved Atlético in the form of a great goal from a free kick.

With Dépor already forced to take a step forward, Antonio Hidalgo brought in Yeremay, a First Division footballer who plays in the Second Division. The entry into the game of the Deportivista star ignited Riazor, with a siege by his team in pursuit of a tie that was close to being tied at times. Atlético endured, stoically, against the courageous Galician push, and is already in the quarterfinals with high levels of suffering, as in the debut in this Cup against the modest Atlético Baleares.