The best version of Oblak that had not been seen for a long time and the mousetrap intuition of Julián Alvarez gave Atlético a victory against a Celta that was better for almost the entire game. From a more toned final quarter of an hour the red and whites got oil. The victory had the classic mold of cholismo. The clean sheet, little play and accurate aim to achieve one of the two chances he generated in the entire game at the buzzer.
0
Vicente Guaita, Carl Starfelt, Javier Manquillo (Javi Rodríguez, min. 69), Marcos Alonso, Hugo Álvarez, Hugo Sotelo (Damián Rodríguez, min. 83), Sergio Carreira, Fran Beltrán, Borja Iglesias (Tasos Douvikas, min. 75) , Williot Swedberg (Alfon González, min. 69) and Iago Aspas (Ilaix Moriba, min. 83)
1
Jan Oblak, José Giménez, Nahuel Molina (Ángel Correa, min. 83), Robin Le Normand, Reinildo, Marcos Llorente, Conor Gallagher, Koke (Julián Alvarez, min. 53), Giuliano Simeone (Rodrigo Riquelme, min. 64), Alexander Sørloth (Rodrigo De Paul, min. 64) and Antoine Griezmann
Goals
0-1 min. 89: Julián Álvarez
Referee Victor García Verdura
Carl Starfelt (min. 32), Reinildo Mandava (min. 37), Giménez (min. 75), Javi Rodríguez (min. 91)
In search of a team that works for him, Simeone opted for his son Giuliano, a talented striker whom he made occupy the left wing in his first start. Like so many other players, his offspring is not immune to mutating from his natural position. As a winger he was inconsequential in attack and in defense he was challenged by Carreira and Manquillo. On that side, Celta sensed that they could find holes and worked on it whenever they could. Atlético also had no depth on the right. Molina had another opportunity and another game in which he did not end up finding himself except for some incorporation in the final stretch, in which there was a general improvement.
Celta conveyed the feeling of being a more cohesive team than Atlético. With the clearest plan based on the clairvoyance of Fran Beltrán, Hugo Sotelo and Swedberg. An imaginative player, the Swede, to grease the game and connect with Iago Aspas and Borja Iglesias. He starred in an intense duel of crashes and blows with Reinildo. Without worrying Oblak, Giráldez’s team managed to highlight the bad signals that Atlético has given off in the last few league games. Their rivals play better with the ball. Once again, the rojiblancos were a disjointed team in which it is difficult for its players to express their best virtues. There was very little from Griezmann even though he went to the right in the first half to try to generate some play from there. There was also no occasion for Gallagher to show off his ability to look out from the balcony of the area. And without the aforementioned depth there was no opportunity for Sorloth to impose himself in the area with lateral crosses. On the few balls that came his way, Starfelt ate it up.
This lack of football in Atlético is worrying, as they saw how Celta had taken control of the match and were not able to take it away. A good combination between Carreira, Manquillo and Borja Iglesias ended with a drop from the latter to Iago Aspas. The sky captain’s right hand was damaging. Low and into the corner, after passing the ball through a forest of legs, Oblak made a save that revived the miracle goalkeeper who was missing that type of intervention. The Slovenian reached the base of the post with his mitt to deflect Aspas’s poisonous shot. The play certified Celta’s superiority in another forgettable first half for Atlético.
Another game to rectify it after the break. Simeone did it by sitting Koke down to bring on Julián Alvarez. Again, as in Vallecas, Sorloth, La Araña and Griezmann coincided. However, it was Celta who was able to open the scoring. Oblak took a point-blank header from Borja Iglesias after a good play linked from left to right. Atlético did not improve and Simeone continued to move pieces in search of a necessary victory to not be left behind Barcelona with Sunday’s derby at the door. De Paul, Riquelme and Correa came in and gave the team another look, although Oblak saw how Douvikas finished off a free ball high on the edge of the area. Riquelme caused Guaita to have to intervene for the first time with 10 minutes remaining. It was the sign that the red and whites were now more committed to Celta’s field. Griezmann flashed his left boot to put in a thread that caught Julián Alvarez’s intuition at the far post at the last minute to begin to justify his signing.
