For a quarter of an hour the Oviedo he 0-0 in the Metropolitano, then overwhelmed by a collective goal from the Atlético de Madrid, of so many by Alexander Sorloth in 26 minutes and the tenth consecutive victory for the red and white team at home, heading at full speed, without demanding more, to the Camp Nou to challenge Barcelona.
It's not just his performance at home. It goes further. Are seven wins in a row among all competitions, six of them specifically in LaLiga. They have won eleven of their last thirteen duels between the Spanish championship and the Champions League. And he waits calmly, sitting on his sofa, doing his homework, to see what Real Madrid and Villarreal are doing this Sunday.
It is Atlético, revitalized from the end of August to the end of November. There is no team with better performance in LaLiga if the first three days are ignored (their defeat with Espanyol and their draws with Elche and Alavés). He hasn't lost since then in Spain, since the first date, and he looks up, now with great naturalness.
Whether he can do more or not will be determined by games like the ones that appear now, immediately, in a week, in front of him. It will not only be Camp Nou and Barcelona, but also Athletic Club and San Mamés. Before they had to beat Oviedo, the last of the classificationwhich has not scored a goal in six of its last seven games and remains without winning since the arrival of Luis Carrión. Atlético took the confrontation extremely seriously. The victory was crucial, just as it will be in two adverse fields.
turning point
The 15th minute marks the turning point of the match. Sorloth had already had a goal before against Aaron. Face to face, his left hand frustrated the Norwegian's right hand. But the match was still indefinite, with Atlético needing a boost, a stroke of inspiration to break the game as soon as possible. and it was a great goal, from start to finish.
The sequence is 26 seconds. It goes from minute 14:43 to 15:09. From the right wing to the left. From your own field to the rival to another. A high school transition. Nothing improvised. Thorough preparation, precise execution and perfect resolution. From the cut and the transfer behind Nahuel Molina to the final shot by Sorloth, passing through Oblak, Lenglet -on two occasions-, Pubill, Griezmann, Nico, Baena and Hancko.
In the course of 20 touches plus the finish, in which they participate up to nine different players from the local eleven on the field, There is a perfect offload from Griezmann, Lenglet's change of pace to give more flight to the transition and the series of combinations on the left that are the jump: Nico, more on the wing for Baena, who goes further upon the arrival of Hancko, whose center hits the far post. Sorloth rivets it.
Reaction threats
Oviedo was then surpassed, with a couple of reaction threats later, the clearest being a center from Hassan that no one finished off, Atlético and Sorloth resolved the victory even more moments later. Already in the 26th minute, in another center from Hancko, also the first's assistant, David Carmo interrupted the Norwegian's first shot, but not the second: The rebound benefited the '9', who hit an unstoppable volley just three meters away..
And, given what is coming, without Julián Alvarez, Giménez, Giuliano or Barrios in the starting eleven; all fundamental in the Always Always scheme and all fixed in the eleven that will be proposed not only on Tuesday in Barcelona, but next Saturday in Bilbao and beyond. A necessary rest. Giuliano then came on at half-time to relieve Baena, also essential for Simeone. Julián and Barrios then played for half an hour. And Giménez, from '87 onwards. Everything very measured. There is no other option with so many games in such a short time.
Atlético's squad is deep. “We need everyone,” Simeone insists over and over again. Rotations are essential in such a busy calendar. He already confirmed it first-hand last March and April, when his team fell out of LaLiga due to fatigue, between the Champions League and Copa del Rey qualifiers.
It is not only the download of some of its headlines, but also the journey and trust that others gain. It was, for example, the debut of Marc Pubill, as the third center back on the right. The second start game for Gallagher. Molina's third. The reunion of Lenglet or Griezmann. And Sorloth's goals. He wants everyone in tension.
The variety of resources opens such a horizon for Simeone, whose team he felt like a winner from 2-0 before the 61,305 spectators who came to the stadium on the cold Madrid night. Perhaps, he felt it too much. He brought Oviedo to life, surrounded Oblak's area, finished five times without success and upset Simeone, who raised his arms and demanded intensity. In a League like the Spanish one, lapses are not allowed. They can cost the fight for the title.
Julian and Barrios
For this reason, he turned to Julián Alvarez and Pablo Barrios to reorganize and relaunch his team in the last half hour, for Griezmann and the scorer Sorloth. Atlético woke up. Not only did he create chances, he retained the ball, regained control and, even more importantly, with the 2-0, he moved Oviedo away from their area. Victory was already certain. There were still some more scares.
Technical sheet
2 – Atlético de Madrid: Oblak; Molina, Public, Length, Hancko, González (World, m. 87); Gallagher, Koke (Raspadore, m. 75), Baena (Giuliano, m. 46); Greece.
0 – Real Oviedo: Aaron; Nacho Vidal, David Costas, David Carmo (Dani Calvo, d. 61), Rahim; Dendocker; Colombatto (Queen, d. 83), Cazorla (Ejaria, d. 75), Hassan (Ilic, d. 83); Rondón (Fores, d. 75) and Fede Viñas.
Goals: 1-0, m. 15: Sorloth. 2-0, m. 26: Sorloth.
Arbitrator: Víctor García (C. Catalan). He cautioned David Carmo with a yellow card (m. 54).
Incidents: Match corresponding to matchday 14 of LaLiga EA Sports, played at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium in front of 61,305 spectators.
