With a 1-1 tie, desperate because the possibility of going to the Bernabéu this Sunday with the possibility of getting into the fight for the League was slipping away, Atlético found the saving goal in stoppage time in an action that highlighted Griezmann’s importance. The Frenchman won an aerial ball in a jump at a clear disadvantage with his marker and curled in a cross that pushed a timely Memphis. A bit of a savior who defeated a good and competitive Rayo. In many sections Francisco’s team was better, sent off for angrily asking for a foul on Griezmann’s jump. Atlético never felt comfortable. He found that goal because just as he was not good at putting together the game, he did have the patience and patience for that winning play to appear. Atlético had a bad time against a team that exposed why they scored a point against Madrid in Chamartín and another against Real in Anoeta. He made the red and whites sweat.
2
Oblak, Reinildo Mandava, Witsel, Mario Hermoso, Rodrigo Riquelme (Samuel Lino, min. 57), Pablo Barrios Rivas, Arthur Vermeeren, Saúl (Koke, min. 69), Marcos Llorente (De Paul, min. 57), Depay and Correa (Griezmann, min. 57)
1
Dimitrievski, Luis Espino, Lejeune, Aridane, Kike (Miguel Silva, min. 64), Josep Chavarría, Andrei Ratiu (Balliu, min. 64), Óscar Valentín, Sergio Camello (Falcao, min. 83), Isi (De Frutos, min. 76) and Álvaro García (Trejo, min. 76)
Goals 1-0 min. 35: Reinildo Mandava. 1-1 min. 42: Álvaro García. 2-1 min. 90: Depay.
Referee César Soto Grado
Yellow cards Kike (min. 38), Isi (min. 60) and Josep Chavarría (min. 93)
red cards Rodríguez (min. 90)
It was Rayo that got into the game earlier, and they didn’t lose face all night. With Aridane and Lejeune marking the Raya, with the neat Óscar Valentín greasing the game and the sparkling Isi and Álvaro García threatening. Atlético did not feel comfortable, and they went from less to more in the first act. It wasn’t until the pieces that made up a very retouched eleven began to gel that he began to paint something in the game. Without Lino, Koke, De Paul and Griezmann, and without the injured Giménez and Morata, it was a lineup that led to a frayed start for the team. The presence of Vermeeren, the great winter acquisition, attracted attention. Simeone is not very inclined to give express alternatives to the new ones. And even less to an 18 year old boy. He placed him as a right-hand midfielder. The boy has stood out as a pivot, but Simeone did not dare to place him there. His right-hand man as Koke’s replacement is Pablo Barrios. Vermeeren was seen confused in the hallway of the ocho. He combined recoveries and a couple of good touches with actions with the ball that revealed his lack of focus. Perhaps it is not advisable for him to remove from his position such a young boy who has a lot to prove. And there is no better way for an emerging talent to better express his game than by placing him in his natural position. His change at half-time was sung.
Atlético grew from Barrios. First with its thefts and then with its distribution. He even allowed himself some arabesque, like a roulette to clean up a play that ended with Correa in a one-on-one match against Dimitrievski. The Macedonian goalkeeper emerged the winner. That was the first warning from the red and whites. They engaged in a more dominant stretch in which Riquelme began to do damage and Memphis to invent. The Dutchman discovered Correa’s unmarking that ended in a goal disallowed for offside after the Argentine sat down Dimitrievski by stepping on the ball and turning. It was Reinildo, whose physical power injected an overdose of energy into the team, who opened the scoring. He caught a header in an acrobatic flight from a lateral foul well gloved by Riquelme.
The Praetorian Guard
The goal, however, did not upset the well-established Rayo. It didn’t take him long to put together a good play, finished even better by Álvaro García, one of the best wing players in the championship. A knife, when he throws diagonals. On the edge of the area, he prepared the ball with his right and blocked a cross shot with his left that Oblak could not reach. The tie did justice to Rayo’s best start.
Simeone must not have liked the appearance of his team at all. The much-sung change of Vermeeren to make way for Molina was soon joined by the entries of Lino, De Paul, Griezmann and Koke. The Praetorian Guard to try to resolve a match that Rayo handled better. Francisco’s team was even better deployed. Álvaro García, with his heart in his mouth, resolved to force a gentle Vaseline into Oblak’s hands.
The artillery deployed by Simeone barely produced offensive play. Aridane and Lejeune grew bigger. Only a prodigious maneuver by Barrios, a break and a run pass for Memphis brought down the Rayista blockade. The VAR determined that the Dutchman was offside. The action at least served to agitate the stands and encourage one last charge. A cross pass from Koke was won by Griezmann with that prodigious jump and his cross was met by Memphis to keep Atlético alive.