For eighty minutes, Atlético seemed doomed to fall into a crisis with barely two months of competition. Sorloth’s equalizer minutes before was still not enough to avoid the debacle that could be unleashed. The fans had become active, but the draws made the red and whites too far out of the fight for the League. It was the race of the Simeone lineage that avoided the setback. Giuliano ran to prevent the ball from going out the sideline, got up quickly and gave a pass to the near post for Griezmann to complete an agonizing comeback. closed by Sorloth with his second target. Simeone Sr.’s exalted celebration for each of the goals was proof of the tightrope walking exercise under pressure that Atlético had to overcome.
3
Jan Oblak, Clément Lenglet (José María Giménez, min. 63), Javi Galán, Nahuel Molina (Samuel Lino, min. 45), Axel Witsel, Rodrigo Riquelme (Giuliano Simeone, min. 56), Antoine Griezmann, Koke (Rodrigo De Paul, min. 56), Pablo Barrios, Ángel Correa (Julián Alvarez, min. 56) and Alexander Sørloth
1
Marko Dmitrovic, Javi Hernández (Enric Franquesa, min. 82), Sergio González, Matija Nastasic, Valentin Rosier, Yvan Neyou, Juan Cruz (Munir El Haddadi, min. 67), Seydouba Cissé (Diego García, min. 82), Renato Tapia, Miguel de la Fuente (Sébastien Haller, min. 76) and Dani Raba (Roberto López, min. 67)
Goals
0-1 min. 33: Yvan Neyou. 1-1 min. 68: Sörloth. 2-1 min. 80: Griezmann. 3-1 min. 98: Sorloth
Referee José Luis Munuera Montero
yellow cards
Clement Lenglet (min. 29), Javi Galán (min. 72), Seydouba Cisse (min. 79), Griezmann (min. 88), Giuliano Simeone (min. 91), De Paul (min. 97)
At noon, the surrounding esplanades to the Metropolitan They were filled with thousands of supporters. Games for the children and community paella. The congregation and the family atmosphere coincided with the fulfillment of the sanction of closing the entertainment stands due to the derby incidents, reduced from three games to one by the Appeals Committee. “We want to travel,” shouted several hundred fans in protest of the club’s decision not to sell tickets for the next five trips. Other subscribers, like Luis and Lucía, a veteran couple, complained about the other sanction, that of Anti-Violence, which has proposed the total closure of the stadium for 15 days. The feeling is widespread among Atlético fans that because of the excesses of the ultras, the entire fan base has been punished. The empty south background image reigned in the landscape inside the stadium. In the upper and central part of that area of the stands, a banner was installed with a message from LaLiga: “The football we all want.” When the club warned over the public address system of the consequences of singing racist or homophobic chants or of carrying out any violent act, the red-and-white parish showed its discontent with the sanctions with a loud whistle.
Under that rarefied climate in which the Leganés fans prevailed in the acoustic contest, Atlético deployed. Simeone’s footballers were aware that the fervor of their fans this time they had to provoke it offering game and goals. The reality was very different. A tense team emerged, too loaded on the left to look for a transmission belt that began in Lenglet and to which Javi Galán, Griezmann and Riquelme had to provide continuity. Only this one seemed determined to break with the monotony and predictability of a domain that did not discover a loophole in the very orderly Leganés, where its central defenders Sergio and Nastasic lived comfortably, hardly being disturbed by Sorloth and Correa.
It was enough for Leganés not to dismantle so that Rajkovic only had to intervene in a few tame shots. Until Borja Jiménez’s team drew an excellent combination at the peak of the right area. Neyou accompanied and elevated this link of passes, culminating it with a breaking right hand that melted Oblak’s corner. A great goal that increased the level of stress and anxiety that was already beginning to paralyze the red-and-white players and make the fans impatient. The team was dismissed with a loud whistle at half-time. Simeone had to intervene. First he left Molina in the booth to give Lino a reel. After Correa failed a one-on-one match, the red-and-white coach operated again. He suddenly brought in Julián Álvarez, De Paul and Giuliano for Koke, Riquelme and Correa. Their last change was forced by Lenglet’s injury, run over by Witsel in a providential cross to avoid a 0-2 lead. Everything was against Atlético. Until Sorloth spurred on a pass from Witsel. It was the moment when the fans finally caught fire. Ideal scenario for Simeone, Giuliano, who ran for that ball to prevent it from going out and assisted Griezmann. By then, his father was already demanding the support of the stands. Sorloth ended up closing a game in which Atlético wandered on the wire.
