• Narration: So we live the game

There is no better way to cope with a storm than to cling decisively to the firm and recover the principles with which you led to caress the Olympus. Simeone, fine and wise strategist (almost always) when he is supposed to be inferior, reminded his Athletic why they were there, trying to contain the imposing European champion of Jurgen Klopp. And there is no better way than remembering virtues of old and epic battles won. It doesn't matter if they were from another era. A team without principles is not a team. Therefore, the rojiblancos erupted, recovering the hallmarks with which Barça or Bayern fell on their faces on the grass that is now Calderón asphalt. [Narration and statistics: 1-0]

Curiously, fate wanted it to be Saul, the man who has so often raised his voice this season to ask for greater fury at the start, the one that caused the Metropolitan caldera to erupt, which had been boiling for a long time. On the big nights you never walk alone. The midfielder illuminated with his deployment to his teammates throughout the evening. So, Atlético started as it used to be. Choking and squeezing the adversary, in this case Liverpool. And it was a corner kick, as in those days when the stopped ball was worth a reign, as Simeone sent the Klopp boys to the ground. There was Saul, the one with the statuette goals, to impale on the line and show the world that dreams can come true. From a noise began to write Atlético a thrilling story.

The storm, in the first quarter of an hour, was from the local team, which took over the famous gegenpressing. What better way to respond to the extreme pressure of the British than by tracing their own strategy. The matter would have reached greater glory had his Morata boot sharper. The fact is that Liverpool, in lucrative clothing, was stripped more than he had imagined in his training in the sports city of Melwood.

But the champion woke up, and did so calmly pushing Atlético towards his goal. The beefy Van Dijk commanded the hosts in a foreign field and Liverpool entrenched his opponent in a span of land. The rojiblancos defenders and midfielders almost got in the way trying to keep up in the absence of oxygen. In the absence of light, even. The scenario was not new for Simeone (he lived it against Barça or Bayern) or unexpected for the fervent Madrid fan. The reds, last night blacks, embedded Atlético in their area, although Oblak hardly suffered in an intense first act. The main conclusion was that the back of the stony British rearguard was vulnerable.

The surprise emergence of Lemar in the starting team, only lasted a part. It was the card that Simeone played and that sold out in favor of the energetic lungs Marcos Llorente, trying to sharpen the claws and tear the ball out of the claws of Liverpool. The greatest danger of the visiting trident, which for many moments seemed more like a trio of piranhas, was put by Salah, who lacked aim. In front was probably the Athletic with more defensive muscle of the whole season, supported by Savic and Felipe. The occasion well deserved it.

In his corner, Klopp barely flinched despite the score. The only ball on the grass was his own. There was no discussion. Correa and Morata were barely able to find an open field race and when they did, the Madrid striker failed the trigger again. Lodi's gift to the counterattack ended in a tremendous mischief.

A left-handed Lodi, perhaps on his stellar night, woke up his own again. There was some fright near the Oblak goal, but he was never forced to look like a palm. The temperature still rose a couple of degrees when Diego Costa returned to the scene three months after his operation. The point, agitator a year ago, of the magical night against Juventus, took part in another of those snapshots that are already part of the young Metropolitan legend. "The almighty Liverpool Klopp's knee jumped in here," the corners of the rojiblanco stadium will one day remember.

Because last night, Atlético was the same as ever. The principles, if they are solid, often lead to wonderful places. This time, at least, he did it to Anfield. The story may be quite different there. Barcelona knows it well. But, until then, Simeone and his boys already have something to tell this season.

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  • sports
  • football
  • Champions League
  • Atlético de Madrid
  • Diego Simeone
  • Jürgen Klopp

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