ANDn the break against Real Sociedad the rojiblancas alarms were lit. Lemar had to retire injured and thus added to the decline of Marcos Llorente. Cholo was then left without two of his key pieces in the center of the field. The two footballers who occupied the interior positions in the supposed ideal eleven of Atlético, were out of combat. With Kondogbia also with discomfort, it was time to find a replacement.
The first date for this was Levante. Simeone then bet on Hector Herrera while Rodrigo de Paul waited for his opportunity on the bench. An opportunity that came in the form of half an hour, enough time to invent an assist to serve Cunha the goal that at that time put the rojiblancos ahead. That night, the three VAR points were escaped by. But the next opportunity would not be missed by the Argentine. Against Betis, Cholo handed the team handle to De Paul and Koke and go if the rojiblanco ‘5’ answered.
From the start of the crash, a particularly active De Paul was seen. He was the mattress footballer who received the most fouls during the match. The Betis players had to stop him up to five times with an infraction. He could even be the victim of a penalty for a great squad of William that went to limbo. With 68 interventions in the game, the Argentine completed 42 good passes with only 4 misses. He was, after Koke, the player who recovered the most balls with seven. Some figures that speak of his great game against Betis.
Metropolitan’s first great ovation
But beyond the numbers, Rodrigo de Paul looks like a player made to measure for Atlético de Madrid. Against Betis, he received the first big ovation from his new fans, which showed him their appreciation for the work done during the clash. A guy who has fallen on his feet in the locker room and little by little is gaining his space as the protagonist. At the moment, he has 8 titles between the League and the Champions League, something that is not usually easy for those new to the era Simeone. De Paul seems to have been a rojiblanco for half his life.
Now, he has the challenge of repeating the game in Anfield. It will not be an easy task, but seeing the Argentine’s personality and the role he already starred in the Metropolitan match, where he was one of the most prominent, it seems complicated that the challenge may scare him. Those who will have to sweat ink will be Llorente and Lemar to remove De Paul from the center of the field.
