Atlético swam to death on the shore. Simeone’s plan in the tie was to leave Manchester as unscathed as possiblewith a very defensive formation to stop City’s offensive torrent and squeeze at home against his people with the pass being decided in the Metropolitan.
However, this season the results have not accompanied the mattress feud. Total, Atlético bids farewell to the Champions League with three draws and two defeats in their five home games and not even the fantastic second half against City, forcing Guardiola’s men to withdraw and lose time to stop the rush, it served to break the streak. And, if Simeone’s plan was followed to the letter, managing to manage the times of the two games, the feeling is that the team lacked a small step to be in the semifinals.
From the first moment, the rojiblanca premise was to try to balance the football inferiority against City. El Cholo made it clear in each public statement that “they are possibly the best team in the world”so the first objective was to nullify a great rival. A genius between Foden and De Bruyne broke Simeone’s very tight defensive framework and they added an advantage that forced Atlético to have to open up and look for the goal in the second leg. No rush in the first half, in the second the team saw how time was running out and ended up attacking with an open grave with the input of Carrasco, DePaul, Correa, Cunha and Suarez. An enormous offensive potential that Simeone had in store, but in the end it was not enough. Perhaps he lacked more minutes on the grass.
Atlético went down with pride and competition, something fundamental for the fans and for Simeone. “I have priorities in life. The first is to win. Then it is to be proud of what we do. We have extraordinary fans, squeezing the team and in the end responding to what the team showed. I am proud of what Atlético is. Compete, we have our ways, maybe good, bad or that we don’t like, but we compete. Those footballers and these have achieved it. Diving headfirst for the ball, giving everything knowing that the rivals are better. It’s clear we didn’t win and that’s the most important thing.”
The dream of the Champions escapes again, and to try again next year Atlético will have to push in the League, since Betis and Real Sociedad are on their heels and there is a very complicated final calendar. In the case of achieving it, the feeling of the tie against City is that the team can compete against anyone, although they have points to strengthen. Felipe ended up being sent off after making a good defensive eliminatory, accompanied by some huge Savic and Reinildo, but it is already his second red card in the Champions League and his contract ends in June. The injuries to Giménez and Savic have been a great burden for the team, and the magnifying glass is focused on that area of the pitch, which has improved significantly with the appearance of the Mozambican in January.
Lack of fluidity and the issue of ‘9’
In the right lane, Trippier’s departure has forced Llorente to accumulate many minutes in defense. Vrsaljkothe first alternative, contract ends in June and Wass, signed in January, only played the 45 minutes prior to his injury. In the center of the field, Kondogbia has left two big ties against United and City, in that function to steal and get out. But a little more creativity has been lacking on his side, where neither Koke nor De Paul have managed to speed up the game. Llorente has not done it either when he has participated there and Lemar left good minutes against City interspersed with spaces with little prominence. Interestingly it has been Herrera a key player to improve the fluidity of the mattress game, but it is another of those who end their contract in June. The Mexican helped before the break to face more closed teams, who give the ball to Atlético in a facet of the game that continues to cost a lot for Simeone’s men.
Lastly, the fourth of the footballers whose contract ends in June is a Luis Suárez who in the Champions League suffers at the very high pace of the game and the low top speed to play so many meters from the rival goal. Looking ahead to summer Atlético concentrates talent in attack, João Félix has been growing and has also shown that he is ready to add as a reference up front, but with the departure of Suárez there would be no pure nine left in the squad. A player accustomed to playing backwards and running when he falls back into his own field, although Cunha has been growing in that role. It has not helped Atlético that they played what Simeone wanted to beat City, but he left one more proof that it is a team and a living project and that you can compete against anyone without worrying about what they think from the outside. Pride, passion and feeling, prayed the stands before the game. A hobby that is still overturned with the team. Now that small step is missing for a return to the semifinals of the Champions League that have been elusive since 2017.