In the early morning of Beijing time today (20th), in the 1/8 final of the Spanish King's Cup, Atletico Madrid lost 0-2 to Real Sociedad and was eliminated. Before Atletico's bus arrived at the stadium, it was also chased and blocked by Real Sociedad's aggressive fans.
Two consecutive defeats, two-line champions broken. Atletico have had a very painful week and do not know when it will ease up. Following the elimination of the Spanish Super Cup by Bilbao, Atletico lost 2–0 in the Copa del Rey to another Basque side, Real Sociedad. The team languished on the pitch and was attacked by opposing fans off the pitch, not to mention the fire.
There were two main culprits for Atletico's loss. First there was the goalpost, carrasco in the first half with a string of passes, getting up at a very close distance, but the ball hit the upright; in the second half Felix's long-range shot popped up again in the middle of the post, and the bad luck was repeated. On the other hand, the strong have strong luck. Atletico have hit a wall everywhere, and the fundamental reason is that their long-standing loopholes are still there, and they are getting bigger. Jimenez, who returned from injury, was not cool in the final minutes of the Super Cup, and was sent off with a red card for kicking the opponent's head, resulting in a suspension for the game. Simeone had to use Felipe, who was in a state like a big roulette wheel, to play the starter.
Half a year ago, it was hard to imagine that Atletico could concede so many high goals. But that's how reality unfolds. In the 33rd minute, Real Sociedad had a corner kick opportunity and Gianuzai pushed the ball into the bottom corner under atletico's three-man bag. Atletico always adopted an air defense strategy of not staring at people, but the players either made a mistake in running position or could not grab the high point, this time it was Felipe, and Januzai later came to the top to suppress the grab point.
If that's a mistake, atletico fans aren't desperate. In the opening 2 minutes of the second half, Atletico continued to pass back, Felipe received the ball in the face of 2 people to grab, actually chose to protect the ball back, before he could pass the ball, Norwegian high forward Selot has broken the ball and sent it cleanly into the net. Oblak comforted Felipe at the first time, encouraging his teammates to cheer up. But everyone knows that with such a defensive line, how many goals will be sent back from the front, not to mention that midfielders De Paul, Cork and Herrera must take care of the defense, because 3 to 3 is absolutely impossible to resist. This leads to a disconnect in the midfield, the offensive turnover efficiency is extremely low, and the ball can only be advanced layer by layer, and it cannot be sent into the penalty area, and there is no way.
Simeone replaced echelon players Carlos Martin and Javier Serrano in the 78th minute. It is hard to imagine that Atletico have competed with Real Madrid and Barcelona for several seasons, and there is not even a team of players on the bench at such a critical moment. But think about it last year, when Atletico lost to the lower team Cornella in the Copa del Rey. This loss to the "defending champions" (actually the 2019-20 Copa del Rey) Real Sociedad is not abnormal. But looking back, this is probably Atletico's only hope of winning the title this year, and it is gone.
Simone admits that he is not stable, but maintains the necessary calm. I say this because there was a very dangerous incident before the game. Before Atletico's bus arrived at the stadium, it was chased and blocked by Real Sociedad's aggressive fans. A large amount of debris and stones were smashed on the body, and 3 windows were smashed. Simeone stood excitedly at the door confronting the fans. He said unceremoniously after the game: "I didn't say anything strange, and that incident had no impact on the game." I just greeted people who should have done things well and didn't do anything. ”
The two teams did not clash geographically, but there was a tragic incident in history. In 1998, a Real Sociedad fan named Ato was killed by members of Atletico's extremist group while accompanying the team. The two families formed a feud.
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