Atlético always pays a toll

This has already been explained more times here, that a pyrrhic triumph is one that is achieved, but that can be considered of little value considering what one leaves behind. For example, to Barrios. Yes, again to Barrios. That he was not there on the day he had to be, that is, Seville, and that he was now trying to regain an acceptable state of form before the double date with Arsenal. So Simeone included him in the eleven so that he had a poor first act and so that, when he was coming up right afterwards, fundamental in the second local goal, for example, he lost his muscle again.

There was silence in the Metropolitano there, just after the minutes in which Atlético had come back without giving too much importance, two assists from Baena, one taken advantage of by Griezmann, another by Sorloth, in both plays that Athletic defended by watching. And that change was forced, Cardoso to the grass, but the rest arrived in a flurry, nine in about ten minutes. The rest of the night went by in a I want and I can’t visitorfor Sorloth to certify the victory at the penultimate hour, also hurting after making a good serve from Molina with his ride, and for Guruzeta to make up the score at the horn.

In any case, Atlético’s season goes through a tie against what is possibly the best team on the planet from a set piece, so, as a dress rehearsal, curious to say the least, Simeone’s team allowed long before all that for Paredes to head the corner that Galarreta had taken completely alone. Presumably, neither the guy who absurdly gave away that corner kick nor the guy who later lost the mark of the visiting centre-back will play on Wednesday, more than anything because they are the sameLenglet to the device, but not even that information invites optimism regarding the troops that are yet to arrive.

The target unevented a first act that no one seemed particularly worried about, but which in any case Athletic handled with ease. From the start, too, when Oblak apologized to Guruzeta, slow to come out, quick to cover. Next was a Baena race with Vivian from which any astute reader can guess who emerged victorious, So long before the quarter of an hour Simeone was already climbing the walls, meaning in this case throwing a punch at the ball that was coming out of the field right in the vicinity of its technical area.

That was a sindios in a local key. One could point to melancholy once again, of course, if it weren’t for the fact that there also seems to be quite a bit of ineptitude. And there is no way to individualize this collective chaos, no matter how much you want to write about certain footballers. The season is leaving too many messages in that sense, so, as far as the dispute with Athletic is concerned, Until half-time everything was more of the same: Ernesto Valverde’s team at ease, but without any special effort to dig into the wound.

Simeone did not want to make changes after the restart. Julián Alvarez was on the bench among others, and if he didn’t have minutes it must be for a reason, everyone here knows everyone, but Grizi tied immediately, in his penultimate game at home, after Vivian ruined his night, and Sorloth did the honors corresponding to Barrios’ recovery prior to the injury shortly after, which came to demonstrate that one can win by losing and lose by winning. Whoever knows, let him explain it. At the moment Arsenal arrives, in a Champions League semi-final. Stitches for Atlético. Paying the toll dearly, yes.