At any other time in his life, at least in his most recent life, Atlético would have taken refuge from the cold at rest, letting his imagination fly over who would be his opponent in the round of 16. At any other time, the Lokomotiv would have been dispatched in half an hour. There were enough reasons in the first act for all that had happened. But in times of witches and curses, as in which this team lives, things work differently and the rojiblancos had to wait for Felipe, in the second part, to close, after endless frustrations and anxieties. It is already past. The desired eighth bass drum awaits you.
The boys of Simeone wandered at will to the shy set from the first moment, they put the ball in the backpack and arrived at the locker room asking what was happening in Leverkusen. Just in case. Joao Felix had calmed the shaking of penalties but there were still many fears in his head. All for the same reason: the goal. Or, where appropriate, the lack of it, of course.
From the start, Atlético came out convinced of how he had to take the helm to avoid the storm. Not long ago, Saul eagerly evoked those days when his team was "a massacre" in those first minutes. Last night, firmly gripping the ball, they erased their opponent from the grass. Nor was it too complicated because the Lokomotiv never taught his claws. Before the first minute, Joao Felix lay on the rival area after being shot down by goalkeeper Kochenkov. And on the penalty spot the little Trippier, brave, impulsive and determined, rose to start to scare the ghosts. However, he achieved the opposite. His shot was guessed by the Russian goal and he ended up spitting the stick. Of course, the Russian goalkeeper had advanced a meter. The referee chose not to repeat the matter and the stomach of the stands shrunk a couple more centimeters.
Neither the Metropolitan muscovite cold nor those classic fears that usually emerge in times of doubt led Atlético to take a step back. Unlike. He threw himself without complexes in search of that eighth-seat armchair that had delayed the bill longer. Although he had to wait a quarter of an hour to start seeing the light. And today nobody enlightens this team more than Joao Felix. The VAR confirmed what Trippier had been claiming for a few seconds: his center had been diverted into the area by the hand of a defender. The golden boy hid the ball in his lap, caressed it and left Kochenkov nailed. With that blow he had ended a disturbing drought of more than 300 minutes of his own. In part, for that reason the red and white were face to face that narrow and poisonous gorge.
Atletico was believed safe when Morata struck the second stab at a harmless Lokomotiv. Although the Russians were not on vacation, they did have their heads elsewhere. But this time the VAR smothered the fireworks by revealing that one of the striker's legs was not where he should. Then he would take out his Thomas cannon and reinterpret one of his elegant dance steps Joao Felix, but the intrigue and anxiety remained in the atmosphere for a while longer.
Last night was a version similar to what the red and white have been showing since they assumed wait and give minutes is not the best way to reach the goal. The big difference was that fate and, above all, the goal stopped giving them a corner. And that nobody breathed easy until Felipe took off from the ground to draw his first volterera in the air. Koke discovered that the big central Brazilian was in the heart of the area and he hooked it with his right hand to settle so much unnecessary suffering. No matter what happened in Germany at that time.
There was no longer any intrigue that shrunk the soul or the leg. So Atlético, entrusted to the fantasy of Joao Felix, tried to continue dispatching his curse in front of the opposing goal. Perhaps already thinking of redirecting his way in LaLiga, since it was already known in the second round bass drum. An obligation in summer that had been suspended until this last chapter, where it is difficult to trust anyone. Much less of destiny. In those final meters, Koke and Joao Felix came out cheered. The Metropolitan did not see more goals, but they were not necessary either. There are times that it is better to save just in case.
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