Atlético eliminated Sparta Prague with authority with six goals and overwhelming control of the ball and the game. There was no room this time for excessive caution. Sparta were not a rival to fear and they did not mind allowing themselves to be dominated while waiting to catch their opportunity in a counterattack.
Simeone forgot about the three center backs and about taking the team back. The defensive wings were left to Llorente and Javi Galán, aware that they were going to have more opportunities to show themselves in the opponent’s area than in their own. and up he forgot about Griezmannwho has not had his best year in 2024, and gave Sorloth an opportunity.
All those decisions were rewarded at the end of the first half when Llorente put a cross into the area that Sorloth only had to threaten to attack to throw off the Sparta goalkeeper. The Norwegian didn’t touch her, but he did his part so that Vindahl didn’t know what he had to do.
Before that Julián Álvarez had scored in an impeccable free kick that overcame the barrier from above. It took a quarter of an hour and the goal was confirmation of Atlético’s absolute dominance, which almost greedily monopolized the ball.
Was the staging of a new Atléticoalthough it does not necessarily have to be the Atlético of the nearest future, accustomed as Simeone is to changing men and systems within the game.
Everything can coexist in Cholo’s head, who sent his team to defend with six when Sparta attacked. Then Giuliano and Carragher occupied the wings and pushed Llorente and Galán towards the interior.
The new and the old also coexist. The team symbols were on the bench at the beginning of the match. Simeone was accompanied on the bench by Koke and Griezmann. Barrios takes command of the team which previously corresponded to the captain. The youth player has moved Gallagher to a wing. There is no other player on the team capable of directing the game like him.. In Prague he gave an exhibition until he gave way to the captain with the game already very decided.
Griezmann came on earlier in place of Sorloth and the sign that everyone coexists is that the first ball he touched ended up being a goal by Julián Álvarez, Atlético’s third, in which Giuliano also participated with the last pass to Julián.
The Frenchman kept the fourth, with the right after a pass from Llorente. Antoine gave more possibilities to his team’s game. He was not satisfied with being Julián Álvarez’s companion up top, but rather he went to look for the ball in the center of the field to start the plays. Correa asked for the fifth and he also scored the sixth. He made good use of the few minutes he was on the field and Atlético enjoyed the happiness of being someone else for a day.