It was the big surprise of the night, the red-and-white fans, judging by what had been rehearsed, were totally convinced that Conor Gallagher would make his debut as a starter at home. But no, Diego Pablo Simeone surprised once again and placed Rodrigo Javier de Paul as a companion for Koke and Rodrigo Riquelme alongside Samuel Lino in attack.
Leaving the Epsom player on the bench, he will rest for the entire match, probably with his batteries fully charged for a very tough game like Bilbao. The red-and-whites visit a ground that has not been very good for them recently. Of the last five visits to Athletic Bilbao, Diego Simeone 's men have only won once, with a goal from Antoine Griezmann two seasons ago.
Very poor results make one think that it is an extremely difficult match for the Madrid team and that they must win away from home. They have already drawn in Villarreal and in Bilbao after the slip-up at home, they cannot afford not to add three points. The fans are already worried and some think that if they do not win on Saturday, Enrique Cerezo's team can say goodbye to La Liga.
You are expected in Bilbao
For a match with such pace and so much force, against a team as overwhelming as Athletic Club de Bilbao, it is possible that we will now see Conor Gallagher start. The Briton has only been in Madrid for a week, although he has left very good impressions both on the red-and-white fans, as well as on Diego Pablo Simeone himself, who thinks he is in very good shape.
Despite not having any minutes against RCD Espanyol , the Atlético de Madrid manager was very satisfied with the Englishman's performance against Girona at home . The Argentine praised him in a press conference, with some very clear and nice words. "He has something that can't be bought anywhere else" he explained, giving an idea of his enormous satisfaction with the former Chelsea player .
At the worst moment, Simeone called him
His arrival was difficult and quite painful, the Englishman spent five days training in Madrid until negotiations broke down. It was then that Chelsea forced him to return to London to train separately with the youngsters. Before that trip , Diego Simeone made his first big call to encourage him and explain that he counts on him.
What worried Conor Gallagher was that he would not be able to join the club after having made the bet . It was difficult for him to make up his mind, but when he did, he was firm and flew straight to the capital of Spain . He passed a medical examination and signed a contract, although it could not be made official until almost a week later, due to several reasons.
Conor Gallagher is happy in Madrid , he has discovered that what Kieran Trippier told him about the Atlético fans was true. Even that he had fallen a little short of the fervour shown by the Atlético fans. In Bilbao he can have his first start as a starter, all those who yesterday were betting on seeing him start wish for it.