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Ahead of Wednesday’s visit to the Iberostar Stadium, Diego Simeone was expecting a solid response from his team. Atletico Madrid had been unable to win their last 3 games in all competitions ahead of their midweek tie against Mallorca.
In LaLiga, Simeone’s team had gathered just 1 point from their last 2 games and as a result, had to surrender their unbeaten record, as well as their place at the top of the LaLiga table.
The Argentine, as such, was targeting all 3 points against the side from the bottom half of the table, in order to get their season back on track and he named his first eleven accordingly.
Simeone started with Jan Oblak in goal, with Santiago Arias, Felipe, Stefan Savić and Renan Lodi making up the back four. The midfield consisted of Saúl Ñíguez, Koke, Thomas Partey and Vitolo, while in attack Diego Costa returned to the team to partner Joao Felix.
Atleti were the better team in the first half and deservedly took the lead through Costa in the 26th minute. After the break, Simeone’s men double their lead through Joao Felix and ultimately went on to win all 3 points on the day.
Here are 3 reasons why Atletico Madrid won the game.
#3 Resolute defending
Diego Simeone made a few changes to his backline for the game, keeping in mind player fatigue from the back to back games in recent days. However, his boys ensured that the manager did not regret his decision to rotate the team, as the backline stood up to Mallorca and came away with a vital clean sheet.
Atletico Madrid were the dominant team for much of the game, but the home side did break away on quite a few occasions. However, the visitors stayed compact at the back and denied Mallorca too many clear cut opportunities.
The home side came very close to scoring the equaliser after the break, only for Santiago Arias to make a goalline clearance. After Alvaro Morata’s red card, the team defended as a unit and were able to secure a precious clean sheet.
#2 Controlling the midfield
Right from the start of the game, Atletico Madrid took control of the midfield. The combination of Thomas Partey and Koke dictated the tempo of the game and never allowed the home team a chance to get a grip on the game. Both players worked in tandem with the backline to stifle out the opposition forwards and then drove forward to join their compatriots in attack.
Atletico switched play with ease, brought the full-backs into the game, and kept the ball moving around the park. The visitors controlled possession on the pitch and played at their own pace. The late red card had an influence on the stats and caused Athletico to sit deep and defend. However, the visitors had the bulk of the possession until a moment of madness from AlvaroMorata.
Atletico ended the game with 52% possession, having attempted 490 passes with 84% accuracy. The ability of Diego Simeone’s side to control the midfield ultimately helped them win the game.
#1 Individual performances
In the end, it was a game where the difference in qualities of the players between the two teams decided the outcome. Diego Costa was bullish as usual at the helm of the Atletico attack and Mallorca struggled to defend against him. The Spaniard ultimately scored the all-important opening goal to give his team a platform to build on.
Koke was perfect with his passes through the middle and it was his cross that was headed into the goal by Costa. Alongside him, Ghanaian Thomas Partey had another assured outing and helped Atletico stay in control.
Joao Felix was lively in the final third and in a game where he was heavily marked, the youngster still managed to keep the opposing defence on their toes and even won a penalty that was ruled out after intervention from VAR.
However, the Portuguese starlet was able to score the second goal of the game, with his intention to work the keeper justifying the heavy deflection on the shot. Right-back Santiago Arias was another player who was very impressive in defence.
