Atlético de Madrid rolled back the years in the Copa del Rey round of 16 on Tuesday night, as an Antoine Griezmann goal at Estadio Riazor saw the Rojiblancos edge past a determined Deportivo La Coruña and reach a fourth successive cup quarterfinal.
Griezmann’s free kick 13 seconds after the hour sealed a nervy victory for an Atlético side playing shorthanded, as captain Koke missed the match through injury and the club has been in the process of selling Conor Gallagher and Giacomo Raspadori. The win
marks only the second clean sheet that Atleti have kept in the past nine games across all competitions, and it puts Los Colchoneros into Monday’s draw for the round of eight.
Let’s delve into some takeaways from this one.
Griezmann’s bloody good free kick
“Instead of hitting it with power, I tried to lift it over the wall and it went in. It was perfect.”
So perfect that Depor goalkeeper Germán Parreño didn’t move a muscle.
After he hit Germán’s crossbar in the first half, Griezmann’s 20-yard free kick — his 10th such goal for Atlético — settled a tight match low on final third incisiveness. By game’s end, Griezmann was left bloodied (from a 70th-minute collision with Germán at the edge of the penalty area) but emerged having pieced together one of his best performances all season; the captain created five chances, attempted four shots and tracked back to make six ball recoveries.
Just as he did against Marbella last January, Griezmann produced a moment of instinct worthy of the club’s all-time top scorer. The 34-year-old has made a career out of doing things loudly, but this season? He’s hit double-digit goals quietly, gradually and largely as a substitute.
Griezmann renewed his contract because he wants to leave Atlético as a winner. He’s doing his part so far in the cup; he’s the team’s leading scorer with three goals.
“We want to reach the final of the Copa del Rey,” he said Tuesday night. “We’ll do everything possible to compete for La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa. That’s what we’re here for.”
Johnny Cardoso’s big day out
With Koke unavailable due to a knock and Pablo Barrios recovering from one of his own, Johnny Cardoso got a new opportunity to marshal the midfield at Riazor. Even against the fifth-place side in Segunda, it was his finest game yet for Atleti — and the first time he played a full 90 minutes in red and white.
Johnny completed 63 of his 67 passes and won eight of 11 ground duels. The American pinged nine passes into Depor’s third, made six tackles and claimed four recoveries. Sometimes he dropped into defense as a makeshift center-back, helping to progress the ball in between Marc Pubill and Dávid Hancko. He had the look of a difference-making pivot.
Tuesday night marked Johnny’s ninth appearance this season, which has been bumpier than anticipated since he completed his €25 million transfer from Real Betis. Johnny has battled through a nagging ankle injury picked up last summer, and he missed time with a separate knee issue in December. All the while, Koke has enjoyed a late-career resurgence and played most of the season over him.
Normally, Atlético miss Koke terribly whenever he’s out of the lineup. Johnny’s cool, calm, collected performance against Depor lessened that blow and delivered a glimpse of what his future could be.
We’re still waiting on the best Baena
Tuesday was another chance for Álex Baena to take the reins and direct the Atlético orchestra.
Unfortunately, he himself is still getting in tune.
This match, like the Supercopa semifinal last week, saw Baena start brightly but fade noticeably prior to his substitution before the hour. Since his much-hyped arrival from Villarreal last July, Baena has shown several flashes of greatness, and it’s clear that Simeone and the club see him as a successor to Griezmann.
But the fact is, he’s played a full 90 minutes just once as a Rojiblanco. And on Wednesday, online abuse prompted Baena to deactivate his Twitter account.
The issue I’m seeing with Baena right now feels like a byproduct of how many games he’s missed through injury. Baena floats around from his base on the left; he’ll pop up in the middle, on the right, in his own half…but he isn’t combining meaningfully with anyone.
There’s something else, too. Baena didn’t accrue the chance creation figures he accrued at Villarreal by playing the ball nicely and safely; that isn’t who Baena is as a player. Rather, he’s an aggressive, direct playmaker who demands the ball and unceasingly tries to get it closer to goal with every action.
As a consequence, Baena is more prone to ball losses than others. And accordingly, any plan to let Baena be Baena falls apart when there isn’t a solid structure around him. The mistakes Baena can make (and he does make them) are magnified without fluidity in — or movement from — the players around him. Against a defensively-sound Depor, he never found a rhythm.
I still expect Baena to come good as the sixth-most expensive signing in club history. There’s no doubt that his injury-plagued debut season has been frustrating for everyone; he’s started slowly and more must be demanded from him. Without crossing the line, of course.
