A feeling of abnormality runs through the Metropolitan. A festive day like the day of the supporters clubs is permeated by a rarefied atmosphere, by everything extra-sports that has accompanied Atlético de Madrid in recent weeks. The sensation becomes reality when you enter the stadium and see 5,000 empty seats in the south end. In its place, a message that reads ‘The football we want’, belonging to a campaign against violence in football.
The protagonists jump onto the grass and, at a sound level, the red and white anthem sounds with the usual power. However, when Munuera Montero indicates the start of the Madrid derby against Leganés, the absence of the sanctioned fans begins to be perceived. In the absence of the baton in the chants, they emerge spontaneously and occasionally from different areas of the stadium. An apathetic environment in which the hundreds of pepineros are the most cheerful.
The footballers are infected by the reluctance that comes from the atmosphere of the match. Simeone’s men, who place Javi Galán as a left-footed centre-back, dominate possession with hardly any depth and a well-planted Leganés that is comfortable in the game. The chances for the red and whites fell in dribs and drabs, although none of them managed to worry Dmitrovic too much. Sorloth is surprised that the ball reaches his position at the far post and he fails to finish with force, Barrios tries it from outside the area without luck and a shot by Correa, after running into the blue and white defense, is stopped without problems by the Serbian goal.
Borja Jiménez’s men, unprecedented in attack so far, are encouraged with a good combination after half an hour of play. Tapia finds Raba unmarked on the right and the Cantabrian gives way inside the area towards Neyou. The Cameroonian doesn’t even think about it. Control and release a missile as violent as it is precise to the right corner, unstoppable for Oblak. Leganés, with the minimum, is ahead on the scoreboard.
The apathy in the atmosphere gives way to red-and-white anger at the poor play of their team. Five minutes before the break, the pepineros wasted a counterattack in which their four attackers only faced three defenders, but the athletic inattention unleashed the first whistles from the Metropolitano. Once Pandora’s box is opened, the few chants heard so far disappear and indignation spreads throughout the Colchonero fiefdom, which at half-time bids farewell to its team with a loud whistle.
The outlook does not improve for Simeone’s men after passing through the locker room, unable to harm a well-placed Leganés. The carousel of changes, Lino after the break and Giuliano, De Paul and Julián Álvarez before the 60th, fails to give Atlético a new look, to the despair of the stands. A Griezmann steal gives Correa an unbeatable opportunity, but the Argentine’s definition goes wide.
The mattress team needed a turning point and this comes thanks to a play invented by Witsel. After a corner kick, the Belgian enters the area and gets rid of his marker with a brilliant cut-back. In his second attempt to find a finisher, he gives Sorloth a pass of death that the Norwegian does not forgive. The tie lifts the spirit of the team as well as that of their parish, united and unleashed in search of victory.
An almost miraculous appearance by Diego González saves the goal that De Paul was already celebrating, but Atlético’s attacks followed each other with more and more danger and it was a matter of time before the second arrived. Giuliano Simeone’s faith and fight, a virtue that seems genetic, lead him to prevent the ball from going over the sideline next to the corner. Recovered from his effort, the Argentine puts a great cross towards Griezmann, who gets ahead of the Pepinera defense and Dmitrovic at the near post to complete Atlético’s comeback.
He looked hard for the third to seal the match, but the expulsion of the Frenchman made him fear the worst. Munuera Montero, very quick to show him the red card, is forced to rectify it after reviewing the entry on the monitor and reduces the sanction to a yellow one. Leganés is desperately looking for a tie, but the rojiblancos maintain their advantage and Sorloth, in the last play, adds his second goal to put the game away. Three points as necessary as healers.
#Atlético #Metropolitano #overcome #apathy
