Sorloth missed a header to win and in the next play Berenguer unleashed a tight strike that revived Athletic and sent Atlético out of the League. The sequence features an overexcited duel in all areas.
Both teams played from the first match with the fervor of those who feel on the verge of moving away from their big goal of the championship. Those of Valverde, renew their participation in the Champions League, those of Simeone, prolong the fight for the title as long as possible. Two coaches who ordered their players to apply the entire current football manual. The game turned into individual duels on all grounds and maximum revolutions, mainly for pressing. That the game does not stop and that the ball flies away after the break. Two hits max and run to the spaces. And the first to launch them was Jauregizar, on the right, who sent a cross to Nico Williams which did not arrive. Afterwards, Areso also added a candy which Guruzeta turned into a mistake.
Curious about Areso and Pubill. The first was Atlético’s aim to strengthen the right-back. The sophomore started last night as a central defender in the League. It was one of Simeone’s big bets in an eleven in which Llorente, Giménez, Cardoso and Baena could not feature due to injury. Pubill had a good job, and he passed the bodywork test with the forwards with flying colors, which is one of the records that, at first, can make wingers recently converted into central defenders more doubtful. He also showed the concentration that the position requires when he rushed to save Hancko’s back.
In this two-goal football, Atlético also tried to steal. His best action was a hairstyle by Nico González, who assumed the role of hairdresser. Julián Alvarez recovered it by running on the right. His measured touch was caught by Almada with a good low volley. Unai Simón, on the wrong foot, with the tip of his right boot, made one of those impossible saves which still justify his starting title today for Valverde and Luis de la Fuente. In a few cuts to the crescent and the biting shot he hooked, while he had Giuliano free to his right, they revealed Julián Álvarez as a star who needed to regain his shine. Of course, his work under pressure is undeniable. The problem is that his size as a differential player depends on which offensive actions are decisive.
This type of full-throttle match generated an ideal context for Nico Williams, sharper, more refined and growing until he reigned in the match. It was also a good habitat for an arrival like Sancet, also in need of taking flight. Areso served him two good crosses which he finished unsuccessfully. In this dynamic of play, the midfielders also played a decisive role. In Athletic, Jauregizar and the seasoned and refined Ruiz de Galarreta. At Atlético, Barrios, who was put in charge by Simeone in the absence of Baena and Cardoso and the replacement. He ordered to give the rhythm of play to his team with first-class drives or touches. His guard, Gallagher, somehow portrayed what also exuded so much liveliness in the game. The defeats and the haste in the entries which generated four yellow cards in less than twenty minutes, his own, Jauregizar, Laporte and Galarreta. The Frenchman had to retire after half an hour due to muscular problems.
The pace led to a match that, if it fell one way or the other, would depend on who had more lungs and which team had the better performance. It was Athletic who maintained their presence in the opposite field the longest after the restart. Encouraged by a dedicated stand, Williams broke through and sent goal balls to Guruzeta and Sancet. Simeone and Valverde gave their replacements a hard time. Cholo had called on Koke to leave Gallagher in the locker room at half-time. Then Raspodori, Ruggeri and Griezmann entered. This one for Julián Alvarez, who was shot. Valverde brought in Unai Góméz, Rego, Izeta and Gorosabel. Sorloth missed this free header and Berenguer, with a right hand, delivered the final blow.