Like Atlético, any resource is a potosí. As in Paris, Oblak mounted a winning counterattack with a long kick after blocking a corner kick to which Giuliano ran blindly. Another memorable ride from the boy to overcome Mojica’s mistake and then Maffeo’s attempt to stop him. Once in the area he gave the ball to Julián Álvarez so he could score as he pleased. The gesture speaks of a very collective player who preferred to secure the goal rather than individual glory.
0
Dominik Greif, Martin Valjent, Antonio Raíllo, Johan Mojica, Pablo Maffeo (Dani Rodríguez, min. 74), Robert Navarro (Antonio Sánchez, min. 74), Samú Costa, Manu Morlanes (Daniel Luna, min. 82), Sergi Darder (Chiquinho, min. 68), Cyle Larin (Abdón Prats, min. 68) y Vedat Muriqi
1
Jan Oblak, Clément Lenglet (Axel Witsel, min. 62), Nahuel Molina, Reinildo, José María Giménez, Rodrigo Riquelme (Conor Gallagher, min. 85), Giuliano Simeone (Ángel Correa, min. 61), Koke, Pablo Barrios, Julian Alvarez (Alexander Sørloth, min. 61) y Antoine Griezmann (Rodrigo De Paul, min. 61)
Goals
0-1 min. 60: Julián Álvarez
Referee José María Sánchez Martínez
yellow cards
Clement Lenglet (min. 9), Samuel Costa (min. 56), Reinildo Mandava (min. 82), Correa (min. 93)
that his father proclaims and Oblak’s rehabilitation are the best news for this Atlético that goes into the break with more points than games. The goalkeeper was instrumental in saving the victory when he won one-on-one against Abdón Prats. The sequence was very similar to that of Atlético’s goal. The Mallorcan attacker ran on a long pass and passed Witsel with a convincing run. The imbalance of a break-and-tear party seemed destined for these actions of little elaboration. Atlético took advantage of theirs and Mallorca did not.
The statistics already announced a game of cement, pick and shovel. The two teams with the fewest goals in the championship faced each other. And neither of them seemed to want to contradict the omen of a boring afternoon of football by paying attention to the numbers. In the entire first half, we did not see that Mallorca player who finds it difficult for Jagoba Arrasate to implement his stamp of meteoric transitions with which he distinguished himself in Osasuna. They lined up a Larin-Muriqi double striker that illuminated direct play to make Atlético’s centre-backs uncomfortable. An afternoon for gladiators awaited Giménez and Lenglet. Molina and Reinildo also in that double role between wingers and central defenders who alternate.
Nobody took risks. Neither Jagoba nor Simeone displayed collective play on the sides to bend each other’s strong defenses. Also the midfielders of both were more concerned with being well positioned than with inventiveness. The breeding ground was conducive to cooking the toston de match, which was the first forty-five minutes. Without a shot between the three sticks. Atlético’s first attempt was at half an hour. A high shot from Julián Álvarez. The Argentine was once again a victim of his teammates’ negligence with the ball. The coach must look for alternatives that help find clean ball circuits that help bury the predictable team seal with the ball, but the players must also look at their navel and adjust the precision. Otherwise, it is impossible to continue a game whose main premise is to pass the ball from one person to another to progress.
In the middle of the wasteland and the drowsiness that invaded Son Mox, Darder drew a thread that Larin nodded to demand a saving hand from Oblak. That was the most brilliant action of the first act. In the second, a more prominent Atlético seemed to emerge, although without much finesse. It was Oblak who mounted that winning counterattack when Mallorca was beginning to prevail again and could have taken over the game even more if the referee had shown Lenglet the second yellow for a continued grab at Larin. Julián Álvarez’s goal gave way to the four changes in one go that Simeone had prepared. The intention was to put legs in to defend and counterpunch. He had difficulties in setting up Atlético. In the one that was most refined, Riquelme either did not see Correa who entered only from the right or he erred on the side of individualism. His shot was centered. Without closing the game, Atlético withstood Mallorca’s last attacks in their area. The tie would not have been unfair.
