Atlético is still happy

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On the back of Correa's mouse intelligence to mark and assist, Atlético took another step in its rehabilitation. Correa's leadership in the field has a lot to do with his own faith. It does not matter if you play on the right or second point. Thanks to his ingenuity, his team traced the goal of Alcácer with a blunt exercise. Playing more to dominate than to wait for the need to flip the scoreboard, the rojiblancos players did not lose the temper. Good news for a group that until recently was a bundle of nerves. The match measured the degree of momentum taken with the victory against Liverpool. They needed the triumph to climb to third place with the same points as Sevilla, put one in Getafe and keep three with Real Sociedad (has one less game). Atlético seems happy and convinced after having gone through the biggest crisis of the Simeone era.

ATM

3

-

one

VLL

Athletic

Oblak, Renan Augusto, Vrsaljko (Trippier, min. 57), Savic, Felipe Monteiro, Saúl, Thomas, Koke, Correa, Vitolo (João Félix, min. 56) and Morata (Marcos Llorente, min. 82).

Villarreal

Asenjo, Alberto Moreno, Albiol, Rubén Peña, Pau Francisco Torres, Trigueros, Cazorla, Iborra (Javi Ontiveros, min. 74), Gerard Moreno (Samuel Chukwueze, min. 63), Alcácer and Moi Gómez (Franck Zambo, min. 84 ).

Goals

0-1 min. 15: Alcacer. 1-1 min. 39: Strap. 2-1 min. 63: Koke. 3-1 min. 73: João Félix.

Referee

Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea

Rubén Peña (min. 24), Gerard Moreno (min. 60) and João Félix (min. 89).

Stadium: Wanda Metropolitano

Team and bleachers seem to be "clustered", as their coach likes to say. A month ago that Alcacer goal would have generated a fire. Somehow, defeating the European champion seems to have breathed a good dose of self-esteem into the red and whites. A confidence he gave them to face an opponent who used to generate many problems for his ability to make him run behind the ball.

Without the gasoline and sparks that Atlético offered in the Champions League, the match stretched to the rhythm of Villarreal. Cazorla, Trigueros and Gerard Moreno, responsible for accelerating the game dropped on the right wing. Always threatening, the international forward conveyed the feeling that the road to the Oblak goal could be in one of his diagonals. Luvi Calleja's team looked calm, with that historic lineup composed of 11 nationals. Anchored in the power of Iborra and with Albiol and Pau controlling the lateral centers that Vrsaljko and Lodi abused, almost always supplied by Thomas in crossed balls. There was more feeling of reaching the goal earlier for Villarreal than for Atlético. So it was. A good arrival in the area launched by Gerard Moreno was cleared by Savic. Alcácer was waiting on the front. His maneuver was dry and blunt. Control and right unattainable for Oblak. Alcácer was not in his auction habitat. The goal was the first that marks in LaLiga from outside the area.

With the advantage, Villarreal gave up a few meters, although not at his leisurely ball pace at the start and the middle. More aggressive, with Vitolo already on the left, Saul back in the middle with Thomas and Koke shifted to the right, Atlético began a period of siege with side faults and corner kicks without history. Until Vrsaljko played a chopped ball over the defense for a Correa uncheck. Without dropping the ball, the Argentine often put the tip of the boot to cross it before Asenjo's exit. The cunning of Correa, on the verge of intermediate, was a low blow for Villarreal.

Inflamed by the tie, Atlético left ready to corner Villarreal. A distant shot of Morata was the revenue that the rojiblancos obtained from a domain that the Calleja group began to shake again supported by Gerard Moreno and Cazorla. Alberto Moreno benefited from a maneuver between the two to test Oblak from below. The Slovenian goal put another hand of his again.

The rojiblanca laziness was detected by Simeone (from the stand when he was sanctioned), which made João Félix and Trippier reappear after his injury to sit Vitolo and Vrsaljko. The Portuguese went to occupy the tip of the attack with Morata. The boy went to the operations center and went down to receive balls to spin football. His was a clean opening to Trippier, which he combined with Correa. This time the Argentinian stung a temperate center so that Koke burst it headlong coming from behind. The play was one of those that excite Simeone. Few touches, always forward and the culmination of a midfielder arriving.

Atlético's flood even gave João Félix to score. The Portuguese was found with a bad exit from Villarreal from his area and dropped a left-footed shot that slipped between Asenjo's legs. The goal will be good for a boy who has had to endure internal roughness.

Calleja ranks eleven with full of Spaniards

For the first time since he is in Primera (20 seasons in total), Villarreal formed an eleven fully composed of Spanish players. In addition, the yellow team included five born in the Valencian Community. Until this Sunday, the time that more Spaniards left from the beginning was in the debut of the Castellón team in Primera, in August 1998 at the Bernabéu, with only Craioveanu (Romanian) in the eleven. This season, only Athletic and Alavés have made a national plenary session in LaLiga.

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