To advance to the Champions League semi-finals tonight at the expense of Manchester City, Atletico Madrid must conquer.
First of all, put the ball in the net.
At least one goal to force overtime, at least two goals to go up after 90 minutes.
Statistically, the Spanish champions seem capable of this: they are the third most attacking team in the Spanish league with 57 conquests - three less than Barcelona and six less than Real Madrid - and in all their home games this season, except two, they have won.
Practically, the current season's Atletico is probably the most offensive in Diego Simeone's ten years as a coach, in terms of staff, attitude and tactics, but as the first game at Etihad proved last week - within it, in essence, at its heart, it is still a defensive machine capable of destroying football for goal. .
According to Pep Guardiola on the eve of the first game, he also seems to have believed that Atletico play better than the eye can see.
"Simeone's perception of football is incorrect," the Spaniard said, emphasizing, "It's much more offensive than people think."
These things may have been true for their time, or for most of the season, but at an hour and a half last Tuesday they sounded like a parody.
The Argentine coach raised his team in a 5: 5: 0 formation, with no strikers and no intention to attack, and evidence - zero kicks to the goal throughout the game.
As many expected, in the moment of truth Simeone went to his safe place and sent all the players back.
They lined up in two drawn lines and prevented Manchester City from playing as she knows how.
"It's hard to find territory in front of such an array," said Kevin de Bruyne, the only one who managed to find space on the way to the English victory gate.
A cold hug with Guardiola in the first game, Photo: Reuters
"We will continue to believe in ourselves"
Maybe Guardiola and his players really believed it would be different.
The days of Atletico with the nails, that of Diego Godin, Diego Costa, Gabby and Raul Garcia, are over and gone from the world.
On paper, it seems that there is a new and more pleasant Atletico here.
With Renan Ludi and Reinildo, a creative and elegant link and no less than five excellent attacking players.
Seemingly, there were no early signs of the glorious bunker set up by Cello in the heart of the Etihad, but it seems that in the end and in the moment of truth, as mentioned, every coach chooses to go to his comfort zone.
Pep to Pep's football, and Simeone to Simeone's anti-football.
This is what the Argentine coach did last season, in the first game in the last 16 against Chelsea, when he went up 6: 4: 0 and finished a home game (held in Bucharest) with zero kicks per frame and with a 1: 0 loss.
In 2019, when he left for Turin with a 0: 2 advantage against Juventus, Simeone feared losing the advantage, closed at all costs and Atletico also ended this game without kicks to the frame and with a 3-0 loss that led to its end.
This time, Simeone's motive was reality.
"City have good players of our own," he said before the first meeting, making it clear he is fully aware that in net football he has no chance of winning.
Despite attempts to shake up the defensive image of the boy, the circumstances caused the Argentine to connect to his roots.
To keep the match alive ahead of tonight's rematch, Atletico pulled out of the booth elements she wanted to get rid of.
Density, long balls for strikers, excessive aggression, and especially the ability to deal with public opinion.
The criticism she received for the style was immense, but did not move her.
She did her thing.
Griezmann.
Will awaken in the moment of truth ?,
The thing is tonight's reciprocity.
Defensive display like last week will not benefit Atletico, it must present offensive ideas, initiate, take risks.
In other words, she has to get into a knockout game with an attitude she is not used to.
It will not be easy against City and de Bruyne, without Hector Herrera and Jose Maria Jimenez who will be absent again.
"Believe in us," Simeone asked, "because it is clear that we will continue to believe in ourselves and our ideas."
Were we wrong?
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