Luis Núñez-Villavearán
Updated Wednesday, January 31, 2024-23:10
Call it a calendar, call it irony, but
Simeone
decided to dance a tango with the lineup for this match postponed for the Super Cup... looking at the derby? Two left-footed center backs together, debut for the promising 18-year-old Belgian after three training sessions and
Correa
and the
Dutch lion
at the top. What could go wrong? [Narrative and Statistics, 2-1]
The night was cold, not for
Dimitrievski
who stood in short sleeves under the sticks, but for the players who started the match a little cold. A lot of duel, great ball and more possession for Rayo. Bad for Atlético. The red and white team was lazy, hoping that the four games without a win for the Vallecanos would end up weighing on their legs, as they ultimately did. Rayo rowed a lot, but died on the shore.
In these strange things that happen in inconsequential matches, Rayo's first shot on goal was a header from
Isi
, which does not reach six feet.
Barrios
became
Zidane
with a roulette and a cut to get away from three rayistas players and
Correa
, in a one-on-one with
Dimitrievski
in which he had a potosí of seconds to decide what to do, hit an inconsequential shot at the goalkeeper's legs . Five minutes later, he had another one that was resolved better, but the referee ended up declaring a very fair offside.
The match was so strange that it was
Reinildo Mandaba
, who had arrived from the African Cup after the early elimination of Mozambique, who put the score at one zero after rising like a condor to finish off a lateral free kick taken by
Riquelme
.
Mario Hermoso
almost repeated it
a minute later if the red-and-white youth player's pass had gone five centimeters lower.
Reinildo in the action of Atlético's goal.Javier SorianoAFP
However, it was the Vallecano team that struck next. After a great combinative play improved by Isi,
Chavarría
put the ball in for
Álvaro García
to place it at the base of the post. Four passes, first shot on goal and a draw in the almost impregnable Metropolitano, not for Rayo, who conquered it this season four days ago. Only the rival was not Atlético but Getafe in that match in which the Coliseum had to close due to a sanction from last season.
Part of Cholo
's attempts
ended at half-time, seeing that the game became even colder and moved away from the rojiblancos' interests. The Argentine brought out
Molina
for
Vermeeren
, whose debut was neither chicha nor limoná, to try to get a little closer to Atlético's image this year and, especially, in the Metropolitano. On the wing, meanwhile,
Lino
,
De Paul
and
Griezmann
were warming up , three starters who will probably be at the Bernabéu on Sunday.
Rotation ended
Ten minutes later they would enter the field. There was no more time for rotations. The problem is that
De Paul
almost messed up as soon as he lost a dangerous ball that, if
Álvaro García
managed to hit his shot against
Oblak
, would have created a quite serious problem for this lazy Atlético. On days when things don't work out, it's worth running and biting, something Atlético had not done in an hour of play. If
De Paul
had messed up first,
Griezmann
did it five minutes later, but
Camello
, we will not know if it is because of his red-and-white heart or because he has only scored two goals in 16 games, was slow. The goals, yes, were in the Metropolitano against Getafe.
Cholo
must have been seeing it so badly
that he took out
Saúl
, who received a loud whistle, by
Koke
in the 70th minute to try to get the game back on track and put some blood on the rest of the team. He did it by risking the captain's presence in the derby against Madrid since he was facing a sanction. Twenty minutes should have been enough to beat a rival who scored seven goals against in Vallecas.
And they were. The lion warned after a marvel in depth by
Barrios
that ended up canceling the VAR. But ten minutes later he was right after a pass from
Griezmann
and a rude mistake from
Dimitrievski
, who had barely intervened all night. Three points and until Sunday.