A coral Atlético, fine with the ball and solid at the back to sustain their weight in attack throughout the game, got rid of the brand new Valencia de Baraja who arrived with the European positions within reach. Simeone’s players played one of their best matches of the season against an opponent who had beaten them at Mestalla (3-0) in the first round. The goals from Lino and Memphis culminated an authoritative performance by Atlético.
2
Oblak, Giménez (Witsel, min. 59), Reinildo Mandava, Savic, De Paul (Marcos Llorente, min. 67), Nahuel Molina, Samuel Lino (Rodrigo Riquelme, min. 67), Koke, Pablo Barrios Rivas (Saúl, min. . 81), Depay (Morata, min. 66) and Griezmann
0
Mamardashvili, Foulquier, Gayá, Cristhian Ibarguen, Gabriel Paulista (Cenk Özkacar, min. 78), Diego López (Hugo González, min. 88), Javi Guerra, Pepelu, Hugo Guillamón (Vazquez Alcalde, min. 78), Francisco Martinez ( Yaremchuk, min. 55) and Hugo Duro (Alberto Mari, min. 88)
Goals 1-0 min. 49: Samuel Flax. 2-0 min. 57: Depay.
Referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea
Yellow cards Nahuel Molina (min. 49) and Saúl (min. 83)
Simeone’s team understood very well how to sink their teeth into Valencia. He moved it from side to side and was patient to speed up the game as soon as he discovered a gap. The red and whites did not accuse the rotations that the coach made of him. Cholo had a three-center defense that was unprecedented this season, with Savic, Giménez and Reinildo. He recalled his status as a defensive specialist with an impeccable and forceful performance. He is always fast and expeditious at intersections. A defensive pylon hammer. If Atlético was a stone block behind, with the ball they felt comfortable and sharp from the start. Less than a minute into the game, Molina found himself stepping into the area. With the ball in his left leg, the bad one, the shot from him was orthopedic. It was an early warning from a team in which Memphis was paired with Griezmann. A variant that offers more play in small spaces due to the Dutchman’s ability to throw walls in the most complicated place, the front of the area. There he left several details of an imaginative player. With a superior speed, Memphis would be in another dimension.
The match had the attraction of checking the workmanship of this Valencia de Baraja that exudes freshness with that crop of young talents who have the lungs to be intense when they retreat and are cheeky when they have the green to run. Javi Guerra, Diego López and Fran Pérez could not be deployed. Atlético swept the field well from the middle to the front. The Cholo team was hegemonic. Well standing and exploiting its natural connections well. Griezmann with De Paul y Molina and Lino with Pablo Barrios. The boy gives his team another step as a third midfielder on the left. He wins his Saúl competition for that position. The latter is overcome by an overly functional sense of playing with the ball. Most of his passes are security. Barrios took risks in twists and turns that opened the way for his team to score goals. To the left of him, Lino was also pupating. He dribbled inwards as well as outwards. A torment for Foulquier.
On that side a bunch of chances were born for Atlético. Griezmann crashed a running shot into his chest after a good pass from Memphis and also ran into the Georgian goalkeeper when after cutting down the left flank of the area. Between Lino and Barrios they cleaned their flank in a race that left the youth squad one-on-one with Mamardashvili. Stuck after the last control, Barrios defined with a gentle and focused touch with the outside that the Valencian goalkeeper saved without problems. There was no doubt that the goal was on that flank. And that’s where it came in Valencia’s only big mistake in defense when Baraja’s team was happy to have held out until the first half stoppage time. Foulquier stayed hooked in the middle and Griezmann took a curved pass towards the free corridor through which Lino was running. His soft touch with his left saved Mamardashvili’s desperate exit, sold before the defensive hole they discovered between Griezmann and Lino.
Plank headbutt
A hard blow that goal on the edge of halftime from which Valencia did not get up. Atlético continued to be bossy. With that wobble of the ball from side to side that collapsed Baraja’s team and took them away from Oblak’s area. With Barrios and Lino running and playing and with Koke and De Paul imperially marking the game times with precision and judgment in the pass, Atlético killed the game. A change of orientation from Koke to the boat soon towards Molina and his subsequent screw was hit by Memphis in the nets with an opportunistic header. The Dutchman is one of the most effective footballers against goals per minute played. Injuries hinder him, but when he is respected he is a very useful footballer. And with a lot of inventiveness and class. He hit a hat with a volley from outside the area that would have shocked the Metropolitano. When he was replaced, the fans recognized his lineage as a different footballer.
With two goals in favor and the carousel of changes, Atlético was limited to managing the income in the last 20 minutes. It was the only stretch of the game in which Valencia felt dominant. He threatened, but did not hit.