Atléticode Madrid played their last pre-season match today. They did so against Juventus in Gothenburg , after emerging victorious from the matches against Numancia , Getafe and Kitchee in China. In all of them, Diego Pablo Siemone 's team showed their solidity and effectiveness in front of goal with players such as Joao Félix and Alexander Sorloth as protagonists.
Against the Italian team, the Argentine coach once again opted for the traditional 3-4-2-1 of the last few matches that has given him such good results. Molvodvan was again the starting goalkeeper, as Jan Oblak is still recovering from the muscle injury he suffered at the Euro Cup , according to Diario Marca . On the other hand, César Azpilicueta , Axel Witsel and RobinLeNormand were the three centre-backs, with the Spanish-French player making his debut in the red and white shirt.
Rodrigo Riquelme and Marcos Llorente played as wing-backs, while Rodrigo de Paul returned to play a match for Atlético Madrid after his holidays, alongside captain Koke . AntoineGriezmann , in the same role as the Argentine midfielder, and Samuel Lino played as attacking midfielders. Finally, Alexander Sorloth up front completed the eleven.
Unsuccessful exchange of blows
The red-and-whites started the match by settling into the pitch with solidity. Although it was Juventus who had the ball from the start, it was Atlético de Madrid who had the first clear chance of danger. It came after a great through ball from Koke to Marcos Llorente , who controlled a ball that went over the entire Italian defence inside the area.
He was presented to Di Gregorio , although from a difficult position that made it difficult for him to score the first of the match. His shot was saved by the Italian goalkeeper, which led to a continuous response from Juventus , who had an important approach with Vláhovic . Azpilicueta did a good job to stop the Serbian striker, as did De Paul with Locatelli , who was completely alone against Moldovan after a cross from Weah .
Atlético were suffering, and this was evident in a poor clearance by Riquelme which once again led to a dangerous play by Juventus , but Luiz 's shot went too high. The red-and-whites had to press to prevent the black-and-whites from taking the lead, so they decided to move their lines forward little by little.
This is how, after some good pressure from Griezmann , Atlético de Madrid had a very good play. The Frenchman passed it back to Marcos Llorente , who entered the area to give the ball to Lino , who made a very subtle shot that went past the rival post. Shortly after, Rodrigo De Paul put a great ball between the lines for the little prince, who got to the byline before crashing the ball into the post.
In the 37th minute, Alexander Sorloth appeared for the first time in the match, with a header that brought Atlético de Madrid close to opening the scoring. And just like in the first play of the match, Juventus responded automatically with a very clear play by Vlahovic that he was unable to finish properly.
The first half would end with Juventus asking for a penalty from Robin Le Normand on Vlahovic that was not awarded.
SECOND
Diego Pablo Simeone shook up the starting eleven with several changes from the start. Reinildo , JaviSerrano , Ángel Correa and Joao Félix came in for Le Normand , De Paul , Griezmann and Sorloth respectively. A move that was in line with the plans, as the players who were substituted were the ones with the least amount of play left.
The changes could not have come into play better, as Joao Felix 's first shot in the 48th minute found the net. Lino passed the ball to Correa , who let it pass to the Portuguese player, who struck the ball hard and opened the scoring. Atlético de Madrid began to get going and Samuel Lino , now on the left flank after playing the first half as a midfielder, came close to scoring the second goal.
The Colchoneros smelled Italian blood and even a youth player like Javi Serrano dared to test the rival goalkeeper from distance with a good shot that came to nothing. However, another player brought up in the academy like Rodrigo Riquelme was close to causing Juventus to equalise after a bad pass to his goalkeeper. Azpilicueta , once again, saved the day and was able to quickly deflect the opponent's shot.
Last Stand
After that, Simeone decided to make more changes, with Giuliano and Kostis coming on to the pitch for Lino and Riquelme . On this occasion it was the Greek who stood out, as he was vital in preventing Juventus from equalising with a low cross.
In the final stretch of the match, Cholo 's son caused a clear penalty that ended up certifying the 2-0 after the strike by Ángel Correa . Thus, Atlético de Madrid managed to consolidate the victory with a good resistance, ending with a balance of 4 victories in 4 games in the preseason.