The scene was strange.

Just a minute before the end of the first half, Mandi had made a tackle in which

Joao Félix had sprained his ankle

, more due to poor support due to being destabilized than due to the entrance itself.

The Portuguese's gestures of pain were obvious, but it seemed sensible to wait until half-time to assess the situation.

That there were no Atlético players warming up intensely during those 15 minutes seemed a good sign.

That Joao Félix came out again with his companions was an even better one ... until he was seen walking.

The playmaker was literally lame, unable to hide a pain that, far from healing, had obviously worsened.


He had no choice but to drop to the ground and look at Simeone to demand the change.

Written remains, it was a strange situation, as barely a few seconds had passed since the resumption of the match and the change, given the boy's limp, could well have been made at half-time, without burning a substitution window.

And although the match was 1-1, his replacement was a midfielder like

Lucas Torreira

.

Knowing the low confidence of the Atlético coach in Vitolo (he left almost 20 minutes later) and in the squad Sergio Camello (he did not play for a minute), it was not a surprising decision either, given the losses of Luis Suárez, Moussa Dembélé and Thomas Lemar (the latter of the last minute due to muscular problems in the thigh), in addition to the absence of Marcos Llorente due to the accumulation of yellow cards.


And it is that the problem that Atlético faces in the short term on the offensive front is worrying in a context of an increasingly intense fight for the championship.

The Uruguayan, in principle, will miss at least the next three games (Eibar and Huesca at Wanda and Athletic at San Mamés) and the period of absence of the player on loan from Lyon is unknown after he fainted during training 20 days ago .

He feels good, but Atlético will not take the slightest risk.

With this panorama, the only pure attacker that Simeone currently has in the first team is

Ángel Correa

, who this Sunday at Villamarín already had to act as a center forward.


To know the availability of Joao Félix we will have to wait for tests to be carried out, but his recidivism does not invite optimism.

The Portuguese midfielder already injured that same ankle during the last national team break, in a match against Luxembourg.

In fact, the previous week he was already low against Sevilla after not having recovered in conditions of that ailment.


So Simeone, what remedy, will have to look for solutions to continue defending an income that has been declining until now it is one point with respect to Madrid and two with Barcelona.

"

We stay first

, we depend on us, that's the most important thing. It's all in our heads, if we stay strong mentally we will achieve the goal" reflected after the game captain Koke.

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Know more

  • Joao Felix

  • Seville

  • Madrid

  • Catalonia

  • Barcelona

  • Huesca

  • Marcos Llorente placeholder image

  • Thomas lemar

  • Luis Suarez

  • First division

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