Simeone
said
in the previous Cornellà that for Atlético de Madrid the Copa del Rey was a meeting with 'Se can'.
That beyond having won the Europa League in his first season, it was that Cup at the Bernabéu that opened his eyes to what was possible.
However, as he himself admitted after the defeat, in recent years the rojiblanco team has lost the 'feeling' with the tournament.
If Atlético's first unit is a firm favorite in the league, the second added another chapter to Cholo's blots.
Once again, the Copa del Rey underlines the shortcomings of this Atlético de Madrid squad, too short to fight on all fronts.
In the League, with two games less, he is the outstanding leader, with two points over Real Madrid and seven over Barcelona, but he has already passed the first phase of the Champions League with difficulties and for the second year in a row he has lost in the Cup against a rival in Second B.
Drought in León
Now a year ago, while Atlético was rushing the winter market negotiating for
Cavani
, on the field it was clear why they were looking for a forward.
When Simeone saw that the trident of
Joao Félix, Correa
and
Vitolo was
not enough against Cultural Leonesa, he turned to the bench but only
Saponjic
and
Camello
were there
.
In one he has never trusted and the other still has hours to fly.
The final siege crashed against Lucas Giffard, substitute goalkeeper and unlikely hero of that tie.
The rest of
Luis Suárez
or
Carrasco
in Cornellá was joined by the bad moment of Joao Félix (one goal and one assist in the last 10 games) or
Saúl
, who does not score but would give Atlético a deployment that he did not have.
This course has brightened the pace, but between low and potholes he again accused the lack of another 'nine'.
Already before the scare,
Diego Costa
had not given the level and this stumble by Cornellá, like the one a year ago in León, reiterated the need to go to the winter market.
Defeated in the Wanda
Although two years ago it was against a Primera, the stumble was also painful.
Because he played with an almost gala eleven (only
Oblak was
missing
), because it was at Wanda, because it was a two-game ... And above all because of the forms.
A string of distractions and defensive errors allowed Girona to score three goals in the Wanda Metropolitano with only three shots on target.
So inappropriate for Simeone's team that he was unable to keep the 3-2 that
Griezmann
had achieved in the 83rd minute. The tie in the first leg (1-1) left the rojiblanco team out.
Qarabag, from yawning to impotence
The double duel against Qarabag in the Champions group stage unleashed the first crisis of the Simeone era.
In the first leg, even the scoreboard looked like a yawn: 0-0 with only four shots on goal (three from Atlético) in the entire game.
And in the return, the opposite: a siege with 35 shots, 11 on goal, but only one in the nets.
Although he would win the Europa League, that was the proof that the block needed to be renewed.
The rise of Asenjo
Simeone's first sounded blur was in a Europa League tie against Rubin Kazan.
In the first leg, the Russian team had gone ahead in the first minutes and, despite playing the entire second half with one less, had held the 0-1.
Until in added time, with the second leg still in his pocket, the Argentine coach sent
Sergio Asenjo
up to finish off a desperate corner.
The Russians hunted a counter and
Pablo Orbaiz
scored a 0-2 that the rojiblancos could not raise in Kazan.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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