What a dream day for Atlético de Madrid. In his 1,000th match as a head coach, Diego Simeone was able to rest every player in the starting 11 from Wednesday’s Champions League match, give three Atlético Madrileño products their first team debuts and gain three important points toward securing Champions League participation for next season.
Many thought that this would be a dull match to watch, given Valencia’s recent form and Simeone starting an entirely new group of players. But for Atleti, the match was
anything but dull. Simeone’s men generated 11 shots in the first half, the most that the Rojiblancos have mustered in an away match in LaLiga this season. Frankly, Valencia were very lucky to be tied going into halftime.
The second half is when things finally opened up for Atleti. Shortly after the hour mark, two Atlético Madrileño players, Iker Luque and Miguel Llorente Cubo, were subbed on for their first team debuts. Little did they know how impactful their debuts would be.
Luque did not wait long to make this impact. Ten minutes after coming on to the pitch, Luque received a ball from Obed Vargas and slotted it home at Stole Dimitrievski’s near post to open the scoring. Just eight minutes after that, the 18-year-old Cubo capitalized on a Valencia defense that went to sleep, thinking that assistant Antoine Griezmann was offside in the buildup. However, VAR intervened, Cubo’s goal was given, and Valencia’s anger was compounded when Umar Sadiq had a goal disallowed for a foul on Juan Musso.
Atleti’s reserve team was better in all areas of the match than Valencia, and that’s got to be a difficult pill for El Che to swallow. This was Atleti first clean sheet away from home in LaLiga since the 1-0 win at Oviedo in February, and it extended the team’s lead over fifth-place Real Betis to 13 points, while keeping the gap to Villareal in third to five points.
Let’s dive into some takeaways from this joyous win at Mestalla.
Should Molina start at RW against Arsenal?
What a day from Nahuel Molina. Has he earned a start from Simeone at the right wing position?
Given Giuliano Simeone’s rough stretch of form and Nico González’s muscle injury, Molina now has gained some momentum to slot into a right wing or right midfielder role against Arsenal on Tuesday. Right now, he is a legitimate threat to score from outside the box at any time, and Cholo Simeone highlighted his comfort in transitions during his post-match press conference.
In a match where Arsenal are going to be tough to break down, does Molina’s unpredictability give Atlético a vital advantage?
Molina was full of class at Valencia. He set up an early chance for Rodrigo Mendoza with a deft backheel, sent multiple dangerous crosses into the box and was inches away from scoring a Puskás contender with a 40-yard rocket off the post. Molina earned Man of the Match award for his efforts; he was easily Simeone’s best offensive player on the pitch.
Molina has been an interesting case this season. He’s playing with confidence now after months — years — of inconsistency. He’s scored outside-the-box golazos against Real Madrid and Getafe, putting memories of him being whistled in August’s squad presentation out of view. Yes, he remains shaky in 1v1 defending deep in his own half, but maybe he could do with a role closer to the box as Atleti face the season’s defining contest on Tuesday.
The midfield of the future
Will the 2026 winter transfer window end up being one of the greatest transfer windows in Atleti history? The focus has been largely on the immediate impact of Ademola Lookman, but it’s time to give two newcomers from the winter window their flowers as well.
Fans were a bit flummoxed by Rodrigo Mendoza and Obed Vargas’ dual arrivals in February. But MLS enthusiasts and Mexico national team fans will tell you that Vargas is the real deal. The performances he’s started to string together warranted his first goal contribution — the assist on Luque’s eventual winner — for the team he grew up watching.
Vargas’ understated technical quality, strong physical attributes and superb tactical understanding underline how much experience he has in professional football already. He looks well-suited already to the European game and has delivered practically each time Simeone has called upon him in LaLiga.
Contrary to Vargas, Mendoza had expectations coming to Madrid. Whether fair or not, the youngster from Elche was dubbed the “next Pedri” as the two midfielders share the same agency. Mendoza does not have as much professional football experience, but his technical ability is impressive — even if the same consistency of performances hasn’t followed.
Like Vargas, Mendoza has benefited from the playing time offered through Simeone’s rotations in the league matches. If Atleti can get past Arsenal on Tuesday, it’s likely we’ll see Mendoza and Vargas a lot more.
With Mendoza and Vargas both evolving, Atlético Madrileño pivot Javi Morcillo also is demonstrating he belongs in Primera. Assuming Pablo Barrios and Johnny Cardoso can stay healthy and Koke can continue to overcome Father Time, Atleti’s midfield suddenly starts to look a bit crowded next season. First team experience will be valuable for the three, whether it’s Morcillo, Mendoza, Vargas or any combination.
My personal opinion is that I think Morcillo and Vargas will go out on loan and Mendoza will stay. Mendoza’s technical ability is probably the highest of the three and I think that will increase even further with a full offseason under Simeone.
How good is this academy generation?
Cholo Simeone handed first team debuts to three more Atlético Madrileño players — Iker Luque, Miguel Llorente Cubo and Aleksa Purić — in the match against Valencia, highlighting the club’s growing trust in its youth system.
They now join seven other academy products who have broken into the senior side this season: Rayane Belaid, Dani Martínez, Javi Morcillo, Taufik Seidu, Javi Boñar, Jano Monserrate and Julio Díaz, marking a notable influx of homegrown talent into the first team.
Morcillo seemed to be all over the Valencia midfielders before attacking moves could ever get going. Wherever the ball was, you could usually find Morcillo there as well. And Boñar is starting to make a name for himself, too; his versatility to play right-back and center-back could prompt another team in LaLiga to bring him in on loan, or even presage a stay in the first team.
Simeone continues to give the academy products more opportunity, fully silencing critics who have claimed for years that the coach does not value young players. The youth system has benefited from greater investment in recent years, and a productive cantera gives the first team a possible sporting boost — or an economic boost to the club.
