It is not comparable to what was experienced in Lisbon, where Benfica overcame an Atlético that fell 4-0 thanks to Oblak avoiding a seven. Against Lille, at home, it was time to lift the situation and channel a classification that has begun to get complicated. And a lot. Mainly for missing three clear chances in the first half, three heads-up in which Sorloth (the hero against Leganés) botched to prevent Atlético from going into the break with a 3-0 lead. But far from that, Europe punished the red and whites with an incredible comeback that no one believed in the Metropolitan. Nor did anyone believe the penalty called that made it 1-2 for the French.
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The Spider is already biting in Europe
A rude mistake, a clear ball… a ball into the cage. That’s how easy Julián Alvarez did it in the first one that fell to him in the area. The Argentine scored a goal, fourth of the season and first in the Champions League, becoming the eighth Argentine to score in the Champions League with the red and white. It was his fourth goal, the same as Griezmann, in case anyone still had doubts that what Atlético signed with the Spider was one of the players who can give a leap in quality to those of the Metropolitano. This is the 19th. This is Gil Marín’s biggest bet since the Joao Félix fiasco.
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Touré, the cruz of the beginning
Ousmane Touré made his debut for Lille. Barely 19 years old, but the losses forced the visiting coach to take on a kid who had not put on the French jersey… and who will not forget his first minutes. Not even 10 passed to lose a ball that ended up being 1-0. He put Julián in the worst place for the French and the Spider did not forgive. The young defender’s face was a poem… no wonder after what he had done in a debut that it is impossible for him to ever forget. To be fair to the kid, he improved as the minutes went by.
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The desired trident for the worst day…
This course has been a cause for complaint. One more for those who believe that everything that happens at Atlético, the bad of course, is Simeone’s fault. We are talking, of course, about the presence of the trident Julián, Griezmann and Sorloth in the starting eleven. Against Lille the Argentine put them back on the green so that the Argentine made it 1-0, the Norwegian missed two very clear chances in the first 20 minutes and the Frenchman drew some of his great passes, one of them inexplicably wasted by the aforementioned Sorloth (his game was one to forget after missing three clear chances). The critics already have what they wanted… we will have to find another reason to complain. Although the result still makes more than one think.
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De Paul, focus more on playing than protesting
De Paul may be, it is difficult to say otherwise, Atlético’s most talented midfielder. A footballer who, when plugged in, is clearly differential. For its quality and its ability to see spaces where others cannot even imagine that the ball can be placed. That is why the red and white team, led by Simeone, did everything to sign him, although he has never achieved the consistency that he has with Argentina… or had with Udinese. In games like the one against Lille he left flashes of his class, but also too many protests that led him more to complain to the referee than to try to play as well as he knows how to do.
