He had no margin for error Athletic. Second day, of course. But after the drama of the first day with the goal by the Lazio goalkeeper and knowing that Feyenoord had won in their first confrontation, the border with failure was minimal. The reasons for such an extreme diagnosis are in the last campaign, premature and resounding failure in the Champions League. The happy Atlético de LaLiga, which with order and sense gets rid of almost any rival, showed a jaw of steel to beat the Dutch team. He did it after finding himself behind the scoreboard up to two times.
From Oblak to Morata to forget fear
The red and white team came out alive thanks to two factors. The first and most important, despite the three goals, was the treatment of Oblak, the doctor of a team that never had control of the game. The second and no less relevant was Morata, a striker cured of all the ills that plagued him. Two fundamental resources against a Feyenoord that harassed Atlético in every way, with a hyperactive Paixao who was about to unleash European panic.
From hours before it was possible to sense the starting eleven of the Athletic, except for a few unknowns. It is the reality of a team in which injuries have annihilated surprises. Lino returned to the left lane for Riquelme, De Paul entered for Llorente and Morata formed in Correa’s place. But the notable thing happened on the opposite side, where Feyenoord put together an extraordinary initial proposal. He surprised with a 4-3-3 that was expressed between the lines with absolute shamelessness.
Exchange of blows and dominance of Feyenoord
Stengs and Paixao They made holes in the rails of the set of Simeone, who conceded the first before ten minutes into the game. A deep pass for Ueda, substitute at the point of attack for the gunner Santiago Gimenez, ended in a goal. The rebound hurt Hermoso and the back of the net received the ball. Atlético had gotten stuck on the first word of the crossword puzzle against the Dutch champion, who, like his attacking fans, I wasn’t afraid of anything.
With a trail of blood on the green of the Metropolitano, the red-and-white body rose to return the blow as soon as possible. He got it within a quarter of an hour. through Morata in a play that serves to review the regulations. Koke sent a deep pass over Saul, who was offside. Trauner cut it off with the misfortune that the ball reached the ‘atlético’ striker, which he defined without appeal.
Paixao was one of Feyenoord’s great threats against Atlético. /
AFP7
The referee, who annulled the goal in the first instance, went to the VAR. François Letexier understood that Saúl was too far away to interfere with the play. Those attending the afternoon session enjoyed a match where two feuding proposals faced each other in the press room. “Simeone gets irritated and frustrated easily,” believes Arne Slot, who has taken Feyenoord to the top of Dutch football. Although in the pre-match interview he reworked the story to say that both teams appeared, due to their opposition to the dominant pairing. Caution to avoid sinning with pride.
Griezmann regains his balance
Atlético’s electroencephalogram suffered continuous variations. Koke created a whiplash, but the rival quickly recovered from the blow to explore the shortcomings of a defense without usual. The Dutch team used pressure with precision and took advantage the lack of understanding of Witsel and Azpilicueta, which on a knife edge was charged with a yellow card that caused the 1-2 foul. The defense of this set piece action was a calamity. Hermoso added another stone on his back and enabled Hancko, who finished alone after two blocks.
Atlético’s vision was blurred. Every time the ball ran he became disoriented and it seemed like he was playing as a visitor. When he asked for a break, Griezmann’s flashlight appeared, with a unique gift for opportunity in this type of match. His ‘flash’ that opened with a bicycle kick after a messy play in the Feyenoord area. Fright or death. Simeone celebrated the tie as if it were qualification for a final.
Morata gains muscle and Oblak resists the siege
The public understood it and began to boil, especially after the Morata goal after the restart. The Atlético striker is sweet and has ten goals so far this season. He no longer spills over into unmarkings to continually drown in offsides. The locals showed they had a jaw of steel, capable of overcoming two disadvantages. Despite this resistance, he showed impotence to tie the game.
When I thought I had freed my body from the congestion of the first half, Paixao got like a virus into the body of a team battered by European memories. Oblak was the only figure of reference in an Atlético team that was out of breath between Feyenoord’s attacks, that he had nothing to lose. The final hand of the red-and-white guardian is clamorous. He unleashed the coldest sweat by making his goalkeeper rise to all the attacks of the outcome. Tension until the end for a redeeming victory, the kind that does not generate more fans, but serves to move forward and build a European future that demands improvement in the game .