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At 22:15 Beijing time on January 2, a match in the 19th round of La Liga was contested, and Atletico Madrid faced Vallecano at home. Atletico have not been very good this season, stumbling out of the group in the Champions League and facing Manchester United, while being left far behind by top-of-the-line Real Madrid in the league. Atletico have won just eight of their first 18 league games, drawing five and losing five, which is a bit of a drop for Atletico, who have a combined value of €650 million. For Atletico, the league title is unrealistic, and reaching the Champions League is the most realistic goal. Atletico have lost their last four league games, losing to Mallorca, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Granada. Such a situation is extremely rare for Atletico. Atletico, known for their defense, now has repeatedly had big holes in the backline, and Simeone has been questioned. Atletico desperately need a win to boost morale, and this match against Rayo Vallecano is a good opportunity. Prior to that, Atletico had beaten Vallecano five times in a row in the league, and this time was no exception.
Simeone was lined up in a 442 formation for the match. Oblak served as the starting goalkeeper. Trippier, Jimenez, Hermoso and Renan Lodi are paired at 4 defenders. Carrasco, DePaul, Condobia and Lemar form a 4-midfielder. The attacking combination of Angel Correa and Suarez joined forces. Griezmann, Llorente and Savage are all sidelined with injuries. Vallecano was in the 4231 formation, with Serch Guardiola at the top.
Soon after the opening, Simeone received a yellow card for complaining about the referee's decision, which was a bit of a scene snatcher. Both sides were a bit slow-hot and neither created a decent chance after the opening. As the race progressed, Atletico gradually found the rhythm of attack. Suarez had a chance to open the scoring, but it was wasted. He made a one-handed shot at the front of the field and unfortunately the kick was deflected. Correa seized the opportunity to strike in front of goal in the 28th minute. At half-time, Atletico took a 1-0 lead. Vallecano didn't even have a single shot on goal in the first half and was very bad.
In the second half, Correa broke out again, and he scored with a cross-cutting shot in front of goal to help Atletico extend the score. Atletico then had a chance to score the third goal, but Carrasco's shot was rejected by the upright. Rayo Vallecano, who was two goals behind, remembered to attack and created opportunities, but the quality of the shot was very bad, not even 1 shot was on target. In the end, Atletico beat Vallecano 2-0 and walked out of the invincible circle. This victory is too important for Atletico to bring the team back to the rhythm of winning. Simone could breathe a sigh of relief for a moment. However, the gap between Atletico and Real Madrid is still very large, 14 points behind Real Madrid.
The best performer in this game was Correa, who scored a game-high 8.8 points after the game. The 34-year-old Suarez was average, missing three shots on goal. Suarez has slid down at a break and has scored 0 goals in nine consecutive games. Suarez's performance disappointed Simeone too much. If Suarez continues to perform such a bad performance, it is estimated that sooner or later he will be abandoned by Atletico.