Two great goals, one created and finished by Lookman and the other a spectacular blow by Molina and three concessions in Madrid’s three goals. That’s why Atlético missed a derby that they played without much pressure. For Diego Pablo Simeone, his team needed to “control the game more, defend better, better interpret the situations that arose in order to attack in a different way.” “We were not able at that moment in the game to put into play all of what I am saying,” Simeone added.
r the importance that Cholo gave to an event in which Madrid was playing for the League and Atlético continued to pace Villarreal in the fight for third place. And for the eleven arranged, Simeone gave top priority to the duel. They repeated the same team that faced Tottenham in London with the exception of Molina, for whom Koke played. He would once again perform the double function of centre-back.
Llorente’s physical exuberance was Atlético’s support in the first minutes in which Madrid pressed. He won duels against Vinicius and the first time he decided to attack, Griezmann left him alone against Lunin. With space left and right, Llorente shot into the belly of the Ukrainian goalkeeper. The clear chance came shortly after Valverde had hit the ball against the post after playing Hancko with a long self-pass. Suddenly, the game was being played at a slow pace that suited Atlético. On the wing, Simeone ordered the Cartesian placement of his players to further slow down Madrid’s circulation.
Simeone’s players were comfortable with the slow pace of their rival. The coach’s great concern was that some of his players were aware of Tchouaméni’s adventures to get off the hook and look out onto the balcony of the area. The red and white footballers even seemed to be calmly waiting for Madrid to come forward in a transition. It was Lookman who drove it and waited for Ruggeri to double him in the area. The Italian found Giuliano and he unleashed a backheel so that Lookman beat Lunin low. An indoor goal, which Simeone celebrated in a contained manner. Atlético defended the goal until halftime with the ball, with Griezmann as master of ceremonies.
“Lookman has been growing, and working very well, giving us different things in attack and we need him that way. We are also helping him grow on the defensive side so that he can also give us that job, which he has. He is a boy with a huge heart and an incredible will to learn and want to improve. That is great. I hope he continues to give us important things,” said the Argentine coach about the Nigerian attacker.
at the start of the second. The concessions began that caused him to lose the game. Cardoso lost two balls in a row in his own area due to touching them incorrectly and in the second Brahim Díaz won the baseline and took an innocent penalty from Hancko. The Slovakian stung and put his foot in unnecessarily. Vinicius did not forgive and neither did Valverde when Giménez lacked forcefulness to clear a bad ball that Ruggeri had sent him. Valverde persisted, took the rebound and hit Musso with the outside of his foot. Simeone looked at the sky in despair. He was relieved by Molina’s great goal, a right-footed shot that flew to Lunin’s right corner.
Silence took over the Bernabéu until Vinicius was able to control the ball without stress at the top of the area. Nor did he find much opposition to lead and prepare the thread that allows Madrid to continue in the fight for the title. “This should help us for what is coming. We have important rivals ahead of us. Before any minimal situation that you allow, they are going to hurt you,” Simeone concluded. Julián Alvarez smashed the ball a hand’s length below the crossbar. It was the biggest scare that Madrid had, with ten players in the last quarter of an hour because Valverde caught Baena from behind and saw red. For Cardoso, not even the expulsion of the Uruguayan midfielder was enough for him to approve the referee. “I only called fouls to one side,” said the American midfielder. The statistics showed only two fouls from Madrid and 15 from Atlético, but this was no excuse for Simeone: “I don’t think the reason we didn’t win was because of that.”
