Direct Narration and statistics
Atlético had to have a hard time against Athletic to recover what they considered to be theirs.
Those three points frozen in January by Filomena, with whom she had fantasized when Barça and Real Madrid gave her encouragement, are now a reality.
To grab them with both hands, he had to raise a match that, at times, seemed far from his reach.
Between Llorente and Suárez, the red-and-white gold couple, they traced Muniain's initial blow (2-1) and laid the leader down on a much softer mattress.
And it is that Atlético showed up somewhat stunned to that key appointment in which he had to definitively update his accounts.
As if some blood still flowed from
Benzema's
last minute stab
, in the derby that had taken place three days ago on that same grass.
Between the red-and-white apathy and the fang of Athletic, the leader remained trapped for a long time in that glass cage that
Marcelino
had devised
.
Oblak
screamed
.
Savic
seconded him
.
Bellowed
Beautiful
.
Suarez
cursed
.
But those of Simeone were unable to respond to the double Cup finalist, which for a reason is.
The ball and the desire, during almost the entire first act, was a matter of the Basque team, where
Muniain was
stringing together everything that
Joao Félix
, in the other trench, was unable to connect.
It was difficult to tell which of the two was playing at home, beyond the visitor's gray uniform.
"It is clear that without will, the talent is not enough", had whispered in the previous Simeone, pointing in the direction of Joao, who returned to be a starter.
That he remained for more than an hour (until Correa took his place) lost in the inconsequential.
Not only offensive but also defensive.
Eye pressure is never usually effective.
So Athletic, which was successful in any rojiblanco attempt to block him, ended up tearing Atlético's face with a blow from Muniain.
That supernatural defensive solidity of the leader seems a thing of the past.
The fact is that
Iñaki Williams
, always looking for the back of the centrals, ended up finding his partner in the heart of the area and he, with a run over but lethal shot, deceived Oblak and gave the leader another good slap on the wrist.
The glimpses of Llorente
Although beyond Simeone's suffocation, who was taken by the demons, it also did not serve to get Atlético out of his catatonia.
Luis Suárez was an island in attack and, apart from a couple of distant shots from
Carrasco
,
Unai Simón
had a haven of calm around him.
Raúl García, who could still have a few good minutes at the command of the Argentine coach, bit for every ball, open-chested with Savic and Felipe.
That old warrior spirit, with the scent of napalm, which is now only perceived in each stake of Suárez.
Atlético insisted on going below the scoreboard, but ended up finding a float when the clock and the shouts from the Athletic bench demanded rest.
Marcos Llorente's
head
, after a sharp center from
Lemar
, eased a path that loomed bumpy.
A saving lightning bolt that preceded Simeone's, surely, intense chatter in the booth.
They had saved part of the skin in an afternoon designed to increase their pride and their income at the head of the general.
Luis Suárez chases a ball against Athletic.
It was really only five minutes what the leader needed to turn the scoreboard.
Just after the second act dawned,
Luis Suárez
loomed threateningly around the Bilbao area and
Unai Núñez
ended up biting the bait.
His foot hit that of the Uruguayan forward and
Gil Manzano
did not hesitate to signal a penalty and no one protested, despite the fact that the contact seemed rather light.
If Suarez was where he was, it was because Llorente had found him on his radar.
And from that luck came the 18th goal from the rojiblanco gunner, with which Atlético once again raised another steep episode.
Athletic pushed and Atlético rolled up their sleeves, looking for a lethal counterattack that, as happened in the derby, they didn't find either.
"Give him there is time, give him!" Marcelino's boys insisted over and over again, far from giving up.
For that last round, neither Lemar nor Joao Félix nor Luis Suárez were there, sprawled out in the stands, without any intention of putting on their coat.
A rest for the warrior or a protection against the four yellow ones that he carries in his backpack.
Simeone's lived with a heavy heart until their last breath.
Until that last ball towards which Oblak flew fearlessly.
The night was for the brave.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
sports
First division
football
Luis Suarez
Joao Felix
Raul Garcia
Atlético de Madrid
Athletic Bilbao
Diego Simeone
LaLigaThe dates of the agony where the title will be resolved
SoccerThe origins of the day laborer Bordalás: "I don't allow you to tell me I don't run"
LaLigaThe Trippier effect: passion for mate, a poisoned bet and telepathic connection with Llorente
See links of interest
2021 business calendar
Atlético - Athletic, live
PSG - Barcelona, live
Liverpool - RB Leipzig