The canned sound of the San Mamés crowd was still celebrating Muniain's claw, when Diego Costa, in his first LaLiga tenure in eight months, reconciled with himself. The formula towards that redemptive goal is not, much less, new. That 2014 league title was based on that classic combination. Koke pulls out the periscope and the striker crushes the goal. This has happened up to 16 times. Curiously, the last time it happened was in Mallorca , back in September, and with that same light blue shirt. For its light celebration, anyone would say it was one more goal for the striker. But no. He had not scored for eight months, in another tough season where he had only two goals to date.

Although Costa was clear what he was going to do since he saw Unai Simón beat on the pitch . He went to the band, picked up a red and white shirt with the name of Virginia and the number 14 and showed it to the line. A tribute to Virginia Torrecilla , a female Atlético de Madrid player, who had had to undergo surgery for a brain tumor during her quarantine. "I have no words. You are incredible. THANK you from the heart," replied the player through her Twitter account. For her it was that special moment with which she began to bury those harsh winter days after her intervention for a herniated disc. Forgotten, too, is that monumental anger that was caught in Anfield, the last football night of Atlético until today, when Simeone had the idea of ​​removing him from the pitch to give Marcos Llorente entrance . An idea under suspicion that, ultimately, would be decisive.

And those things remain so etched to the Argentine coach, that his first decision after the break due to the coronavirus crisis has been to bring the two together on the attack point. Anyone would have said it was a bluff. But no. Llorente, whose gasoline tank has more capacity than the rest, dropped through that unexplored attack zone for him as if he had been playing attacking player all his life. Holding shoves, throwing speed at the team and discovering gaps between the Athletic lines where both Costa and Yannick Carrasco tried to look out . The novel trident would last an hour on its feet.

The classic Oblak hand

The three of them starred in the biggest headaches for the Basque team. Because the Belgian, like Llorente, has returned with a point of speed and freshness above the rest. Obviously, he is aware that his future in Madrid depends on what he can say on the pitch in these 11 games (and 10) that remain in the championship. From his bare platinum-colored head, and from his legs, of course, Atlético's first shots came out. As if remembering that on that same grass he marked his home away from home for the last time, before his surprising exile to China in February 2018.

Like the Costa-Koke connection, there are things that don't change. Jan Oblak , who got fed up with clearing balls in front of Liverpool, screamed into the sky with a superb slap to the ball that Yeray, with his head, thought he had found Atlético's goal squad.

Simeone, of course, exhausted all five changes (Morata, Lemar, Correa, Arias and Herrera) trying to pocket a victory with which to take a run to regain his place in the Champions League. It was in Arias's boots , when Athletic was already cast, but Simón anticipated it. It was the 13th tie story of the season. "We can not fail any more. We have to try to add three by three if we want to enter the Champions League," admitted Koke , the captain. Atlético only have 10 chapters left to find a happy ending to their story.

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