Atlético starts with a leading punch | Sports

The multitude of red and white shirts that marched towards the Metropolitan broke the image of the deserted Madrid that the long weekend in August has fostered. The Atlético fans witnessed a hard-fought victory, materialized by goals from Morata, Memphis and Llorente against a Granada team that offered a good image on its return to the First Division. They made it difficult for Simeone’s men with Samu’s equalizer with half an hour to go, but Memphis immediately snatched away their hope of scratching a point with a resounding missile.

From the beginning, the game entered a large part of the hot spots with which Atlético lives at this start of the course. The whistle on João Félix when his name was announced over the public address system was his particular passage through the scaffold. His forced confession that he was born to play for Barcelona has ended up throwing the last shovelfuls of dirt over his figure and his future as an Atlético player. Koke’s muscular discomfort that sent him to the bench after five minutes only reinforced Simeone’s demand for a midfielder for when the captain cannot be there. His place was taken by Pablo Barrios, worked since last season by the Argentine coach for that performance. The boy started timidly to claim the possession that all five should have, but he had tactical rennet for the removal and later to be more daring with the ball. Solved that mess, Morata exposed another tricky point for Simeone. The coach has given the striker from Madrid the figure of 18 goals with the threat that Memphis will enter the eleven if he is not fine in the auction. From a burst from Azpilicueta, dividing and breaking Granada’s lines, De Paul and Griezmann set up a wall that the Frenchman extended with a back pass. Morata crashed his inside touch into Ferreira’s body. To a good cross from Lemar, Morata responded with an ill-calculated turn of the neck. From those first two notices a more established Granada emerged, already stripped of the recently promoted complexes. Well planted with a line of three central defenders, the Nasrid team showed that Paco López’s teams never despise the ball. Melero began to impose his rhythm, and Samu and Uzuni threatened his mobility, although Oblak was not required.

With those in charge of the imbalance at Atlético, Griezmann, Lemar and Carrasco, off, the game went to halftime without goals. Until a cross from Azpilicueta bounced off Vallejo and the ball fell to Morata. There it was fine tuned. Hand in hand with Ferreira, he changed the direction of the ball to the opposite side that tried to cover the goal. Morata’s histrionic celebration was nothing more than a faithful reflection of the pulse in which he knows he is involved. Azpilicueta’s participation in the goal was nothing more than the signature of a premiere that confirmed the solidity of his signing. The stands thus recognized him in every action of hierarchy that he starred in.

The resumption threw a more determined Granada that subdued Atlético. Simeone’s team got stuck and showed the lack of grease typical of this stage of the season. Samu had the equalizer in a free header that centered too much. Oblak repelled him with his fists. The landscape invited Simeone to replace Morata with Memphis and Lemar with Söyüncü. The movement moved Azpilicueta to the right-handed lane, the Turkish central defender to occupy the axis of the defense and Llorente to contribute legs to the center of the field. Paco López had also maneuvered giving entry to Gonzalo Villar. He swiped the ball from Carrasco, who tried to leave through the peak of the area with an unnecessary arabesque. Villar’s tense and low center was swept away by Samu in an anticipation in which Savic was riveted. Granada did not have time to play with the tables. Memphis prevented it with a shoe to the formidable squad. Standing 35 meters away, he drew a curve with the inside of his cutting right boot. Over there, he beat Morata. The first time he could assemble the leg it was definitive. Already at the edge of added time, he shot at the bulge with Ferreira outside his goal. From the competition of nines Simeone started two goals and a duel for ownership more than interesting.

You can follow EL PAÍS Sports on Facebook y Twitterpoint here to receive our weekly newsletter.