Atlético Madrid struggled to a 2-0 win over Lliga Elit side UE Vic in Catalonia on Thursday night as they passed through the first round of the Copa del Rey unscathed, courtesy of a late Julián Álvarez double.
The Argentine forward scored the opener from the penalty spot after Giuliano Simeone was felled in the box on 81 minutes, and then he added a second with a pinpoint finish to seal the victory on 89 minutes.
Here we take a look at some of the takeaways from the game.
Thank goodness for Julián Álvarez
Atleti fielded all of their offensive artillery against Vic, with Alexander Sørloth and Angel Correa starting, and Antoine Griezmann and Julián Álvarez coming off the bench to find a winner. It was the latter who made the difference, registering two shots in his first 10 minutes off the bench as he had one blocked and another sent high and wide from inside the box.
His precision returned from the penalty spot and was evident when he wrapped up the win late on. It was the cutting edge quality that Atleti, and its other attackers in particular, have been desperately missing of late. This takes his tally to six goals in 15 games this season, on course to better his 2023/24 figures of 19 in 54 for Manchester City, and two better than next highest goalscorer Antoine Griezmann.
Atleti were not the better team
This game was no walkover. Vic registered eight shots, three on target, and forced one remarkable save from Juan Musso in goal. There was a real chance, particularly in the first half, that a team from the sixth tier of Spanish football, could have got a result against the team with the third-biggest budget in the country.
Atleti have looked off the pace for some time and continued to leave more question marks than answers here, with Diego Simeone’s rotations doing little to settle the nerves around the club even as they did end a run of two consecutive defeats.
The Colchoneros had 81% of possession but were once again leaky defensively and Simeone is still yet to find the fix to a defensive unit which had conceded for six games in a row before this one.
The Thomas Lemar saga is set to continue
With six minutes remaining against Real Betis, Diego Simeone turned to his bench and brought on midfielder Thomas Lemar to make his first appearance since September 16th, 2023. An Achilles’ injury ruled him out for much of last season and mysterious issues have stopped him from returning since or featuring earlier on in this campaign. He was on the bench again here, and came on at half-time.
Photo By Javier Borrego/Europa Press via Getty Images
His appearance lasted only 21 minutes, being withdrawn and replaced by Antoine Griezmann with what seemed to be a muscle injury for the Frenchman. After the best part of a year out, he now looks to be spending at least another few weeks out of action. It’s a significant wage being paid by Atleti and no reward in exchange.
Refereeing karma
The penalty awarded late on to allow Atlético Madrid the chance to take the lead was never a penalty. Guillermo Cuadra Fernández awarded it anyway, sending off Vic captain Alfons Senye for a second yellow card as Giuliano Simeone made a meal of a slight touch of a knee on his heel as he ran past.
But still, Atleti should have had a glaringly obvious penalty in the first half. Alexander Sørloth shot inside the box and Ot Bofill had his arm raised to block the shot in its path towards goal. Cuadra Fernández didn’t see it, and without VAR implemented at this level, it was not awarded.
Diego Simeone will not turn to the youngsters
This was an opportunity for Diego Simeone to give young players a shot and a possible Atlético Madrid debut. It’s true that the Copa del Rey rules limit the number of youth team players on the field at any time to four, but at least El Cholo could bring in as many as four youngsters.
Instead, only Ilias Kostis and Javi Serrano started. Neither made it past the half-time marker, and no youngsters came in with full-back Carlos Giménez left as an unused substitute on the bench.
Photo By Javier Borrego/Europa Press via Getty Images
Simeone’s reluctance to use his youngsters is baffling, particularly at a time when his squad looks depleted and worn out. There was little need for the likes of Nahuel Molina, Axel Witsel and Alexander Sørloth to be playing even more minutes, especially on an artificial pitch. This was a missed opportunity.
