Mallorca flattens and defeats Atlético

Direct Chronicle

Not only Atlético knows how to deny the essence of the opponent.

He proved it this Saturday in Mallorca, where Aguirre's team gave him some of his own medicine.

He bolted with an equalizer and fierce defense in the last third of the match after Muriqi's penalty goal.

He defended the local team with the same professional commitment that the rojiblancos are accustomed to and they did not find a drop of football to worry Sergio Rico.

Without ideas, thick with the ball and not a bit of brilliance, Simeone's team was defeated by a team that had 11 losses and only two wins in the last 13 games.

MLL Mallorca

one

Sergio Rico, Valjent, Pablo Maffeo, Brian, Raíllo, Jaume Costa, Iddrisu Baba (Grenier, min. 95), Antonio Sánchez (Battaglia, min. 85), Dani, Lee Kang-In (Take Kubo, min. 53) and Muriqi

ATM Athletic

0

Oblak, Reinildo Mandava, Savic, Felipe Monteiro (Renan Augusto, min. 74), Marcos Llorente, Carrasco, Koke (Lemar, min. 45), Kondogbia, De Paul (Vrsaljko, min. 61), Luis Suárez (João Félix, min. 61) and Griezmann (Matheus Cunha, min. 45)

Goals

1-0 min.

67: Muriqi.

Referee

Juan Martinez Munuera

Yellow cards Dani (min. 43), Vrsaljko (min. 62), Reinildo Mandava (min. 65), Savic (min. 79) and Kondogbia (min. 83)

The setback was double for the athletes.

Betis, with their victory in Cádiz, stalks him to a single point, Sevilla marks more distances after beating Granada and the defeat comes three days after the second leg with Manchester City.

Etihad's defensive effort seemed to leave Atlético deflated.

Out of gas and as flat on the ball as on his worst days, he didn't even scratch Aguirre's brave team.

What the Mexican proposed was played and neither Simeone, no matter how much the system varied and danced positions, nor his soccer players found a way to generate a play worthy of a goal.

Atlético had no choice but to take on the weight of the game in the face of Mallorca's resignation.

And Simeone's team captured another first half to forget.

In part, it was a continuation of the blunt match in Manchester.

There was not a shot between the three sticks in the entire first half.

The changes with respect to the last European appointment were inane.

Carrasco worked little left and right, and Luis Suárez paid for the footballing plain of Griezmann, Koke, De Paul and Kondogbia.

Atlético was not able to dismantle the wall that Javier Aguirre planted for them.

The Mexican raised a match that was very much his own.

He closed the spaces inside and ordered that the Atlético players never receive comfortable when the game passed to the Mallorca field.

There was no Simeone footballer who could receive and turn in the opposite field.

They didn't break deep either.

Atlético lacked everything they needed to attack a lockdown like Mallorca's.

He had no ball speed, no accuracy.

Overflow, even less.

The absence of João Félix, dosed with a view to Wednesday, was notable in terms of imbalance.

Also that of Correa, sanctioned and released since he was relegated to the substitution.

The entire government of Atlético in the first half was a concession of Mallorca on the ball and on the field from which Simeone's team did not get a scratch.

The central defenders of the Madrid team did not even have to deal with the feisty Muriqi in the first 45 minutes.

impassable wall

The wasteland was such that Simeone sat down Koke and Griezmann in the intermission to seek more play with Lemar and more spice in attack with Cunha.

The effect was nil.

A more itchy Mallorca emerged in disputes and more determined to stretch the field with Muriqi.

Oblak had to respond with a good stretch to a volley from Oliván that was devilish when the ball fell.

And Murqi was missing half a finger to deflect a lateral free kick with his head.

There was more attitude than game in Aguirre's team, but he managed to get Atlético off the ground.

So much so that Simeone had to give the last half hour to João Félix and Vrsaljko for Luis Suárez and De Paul to compose himself.

The Uruguayan was registering the only shot at the door of Sergio Rico.

A gentle header.

With the changes just made to try to turn the game around, Reinildo stepped on Maffeo in his attempt to clear a ball at the edge of the area and the referee signaled a penalty.

Muriqi popped it high.

With an advantage, Mallorca further refined its defensive exercise.

Nothing happened in the last minutes because Aguirre's team played to make it happen and because Simeone's team couldn't find a way to cause it to happen.

He crashed into an impassable wall.

The same one that Cholo has built on other occasions and that showed that it is more complex to attack than to defend well.

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on