Koke consolidates the Champions place in Vallecas | sports

Atlético de Madrid clung to their captain, Koke, to beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0, which has been proving for some time that it has nothing to do with the one in the first round. Simeone’s men occupy the Champions League places in a conscientious exercise by the Argentine, who is putting the end of the season on track to meet the European objective.

Vallecas witnessed the stubbornness of Cholo Simeone. When all the coaches of the Champions teams this week have decided to rotate in their league day, the Argentine decided that the game was too important to rotate and put on the green the same eleven as the one who won at Old Trafford giving the rojiblanco pass to the quarterfinals. A warning to Pep Guardiola, another coach who is not exactly flexible in his methods, and who has surely had part of his staff watching the game played in the Vallecas municipal field.

In the first half of the game the balance prevailed. Barely chances, a shot from Savic and the ‘oops’ in the associations between Joao Félix and Antoine Griezmann were the protagonists of the first forty-five minutes in which Andoni Iraola’s men resisted the dominance that was rojiblanco and tonight was blue light blue.

It was in the first ten minutes of the second when the game became more dynamic. He did it thanks to an unexpected goal, not because of Atlético de Madrid’s offensive dominance but because of the author. Jorge Resurrection dressed in a suit that he is not used to wearing and celebrated his goal for the first time in more than a year. In the 49th minute, a generous Joao provided a lopsided ball near the left end of the area so that Koke’s interior did the rest and made it 1-0. The heart and soul of this team also scored in Vallecas.

What the local fans did not expect is that buoyed by the low impact of Simeone’s changes – Suárez and Kondogbia came on for Joao Félix and Herrera – their players would miss two very dangerous chances, one of them to an empty goal. Without brilliance, without trouble and without Correa, expelled in 85, Atlético de Madrid consolidated its third place, which gives it direct access to the Champions League thanks to Koke’s goal

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