This time last week, things looked a tad grim for Atlético de Madrid. Atleti were coming off a bad loss to Athletic Club in LaLiga and followed that up with a frustrating result at Anfield against Liverpool. Fans began to grow restless, and the usual suspects were calling for Diego Simeone to be sacked.
Fast forward a week, and those shouts are few and far between following back-to-back clean sheets in which the Rojiblancos scored seven combined goals.
Even 10 minutes into Wednesday’s match, you could
tell Osasuna were no match for Atlético. Kang-in Lee and Álex Baena were making life difficult for Aitor Fernández and the Osasuna back line by creating chance after chance.
Osasuna seemed to be bracing for impact, as they dropped into a deep 5-4-1 block that Jonathan David proceeded to break through in the 24th minute. Alejandro Grimaldo and Johnny Cardoso won’t receive an assist for David’s goal, but the link-up play between the two players helped to open the floodgates.
Atleti continued to put immense pressure on Osasuna until the halftime whistle sounded, and Los Rojillos had to be relieved to head into halftime only down one goal. Unfortunately for Luis Miguel Ramis’ side, they would not be down one goal for long.
Eight minutes after halftime, Kang-in slotted home a beautiful right-footed shot from the center of the box into the bottom left corner, with David providing the assist. Kang-in was the focal point for Atleti and was duly rewarded for his chance creation with a well-deserved goal. The scoring did not stop there, as Robin Le Normand added another before Álex Baena put a bow on a wonderful night in the dying moments of the match.
Wednesday’s win over Osasuna should be exactly what the doctor ordered for this team’s confidence and overall vibes heading into a crucial Derbi Madrileño on Sunday against Real Madrid.
Let’s jump into some takeaways from Atleti’s dominant performance on Wednesday.
Lee Kang-incredible
I was having trouble putting into words exactly what Kang-in did on Wednesday, so I’ll let Rubén Uria describe it for me.
In short, Kang-in did everything for Atleti against Osasuna. He dribbled, crossed, provided cover, feinted, cut inside, pressed, finished with his right, finished with his left and, most importantly, never stopped working.
This type of performance shows exactly why Atlético spent €40m on Kang-in over the summer. Chance creation was one of Atlético’s biggest concerns last season, and those problems carried into parts of this campaign. Kang-in has shown that he has no problem creating chances or being the focal point of Atleti’s offense.
Another of Atleti’s weaknesses over the past few seasons has been an inability to break down a low block. Osasuna could see the writing on the wall from the very beginning. It was going to be a difficult day trying to defend Atleti, so they immediately shifted into a low block. Kang-in brings tremendous value to Atlético Madrid in the final third, particularly against teams that sit deep and try to frustrate. His close control and ability to operate in tight spaces give Atlético another player capable of breaking down a compact defense and creating openings where few tend to exist.
Kang-in’s defensive acumen has been welcome, too. It’s been no secret that he was brought in to serve as the Antoine Griezmann “replacement.” Many have highlighted his controlled aggression and chance creation, but his discipline when slotting into Griezmann’s typical defensive role deserves just as much attention.
On Wednesday, Kang-in recorded four defensive contributions, two tackles, five recoveries and was only dribbled past once. He also won five of his six ground duels and his lone aerial duel. If he can continue to provide defensive support while generating chances, Atlético may have indeed found their Griezmann replacement after all.
The Iceman Cometh
In just under two hours of total playing time between LaLiga and the Champions League, Jonathan David has already scored two goals and provided an assist. More importantly, he looks a proper number nine that Atleti have desperately needed.
David was subbed on in the second half against Real Sociedad and finally gave Atleti a presence inside the box they had been lacking for weeks. Cholo Simeone rewarded David for his stellar second half by giving him the start on Wednesday against Osasuna, and the Canada international certainly made the most of his minutes. The scoresheet will show David with just one goal and one assist, but in just 67 minutes, David had the joint-most touches (8) in the opposition box and took the joint-most shots (6).
Frankly, David was unlucky to score just one goal. He was a looming threat in the Osasuna box, and had Aitor Fernández not had a remarkable first half, David easily could have had a multi-goal game.
It’s an important reminder to never fall in love with loan players, but David has wasted no time in endearing himself to Atlético supporters, so much so that he was given a standing ovation following his substitution in the 67th minute.
There are still plenty of matches to be played, but so far, so good with the Brooklyn-born David. The true test for the Canadian will be whether he can keep up this form in El Derbi.
The combo Barrios replacement
Through the first four matches of the season, Pablo Barrios was by far Atlético Madrid’s best player and the engine driving the attack. When the news broke that he was once again injured, Atleti supporters feared the worst about what Barrios’ absence would mean for the team.
Naturally, the question became: who is going to fill in for Barrios while he’s out? Rodri Mendoza? Obed Vargas? A 35-year-old Koke?
Turns out the answer was not one player at all, but the combination of Alejandro Grimaldo and Johnny Cardoso.
Atlético struggled to get the best out of Grimaldo in the opening games because he was too often left isolated out wide and asked to cross from static positions. Grimaldo needs movement around him and the freedom to combine with other attacking players.
Cardoso operated as the deepest midfielder, often covering for Grimaldo in possession and protecting against the counterattack. That gave Grimaldo the freedom to move higher up the pitch, drift between the lines and combine with players like Baena and Ademola Lookman.
The best version of Álex Grimaldo is not a traditional left back who simply stands wide and sends crosses into the box. He has to have the freedom to influence centrally, to find pockets of space and become involved in combination play around the final third.
Simeone appears to be adjusting to having a left-back like Grimaldo in his system, and Grimaldo is rewarding the coach with consecutive high-level performances. He does not get the assist on David’s goal, but he plays a major role in creating it.
