Atletico Madrid secured a stunning victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage, in what was arguably a classic Diego Simeone triumph.
Warren Zaire-Emery broke the deadlock in the 14th minute for PSG, but the Ligue 1 champions were pulled back by Nahuel Molina only four minutes later. And as their pressure increased towards the end, Atletico burst into a counterattack in the third minute of second-half stoppage time and Angel Correa got a late winner for the Rojiblancos.
The teams
Luis Enrique in the home dugout named Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal. Marquinhos and Willian Pacho paired up in the heart of defence, flanked by Nuno Mendes on the left and Achraf Hakimi on the right. Vitinha anchored the midfield, joined by Zaire-Emery and Joao Neves. Up front, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola supported Marco Asensio in the central attacking role.
Meanwhile, Jan Oblak stood between the posts for Atletico. The back four consisted of Clement Lenglet, Axel Witsel, Molina and Javi Galan. The midfield line had Pablo Barrios alongside Rodrigo De Paul in the middle, and Conor Gallagher and Giuliano Simeone out wide. Julian Alvarez partnered Antoine Griezmann in attack.
The game
The stats from the match go a long way in telling the story of its flow. PSG ended up with 72% of possession and 22 shots taken, nine on target, compared to Atletico’s total of four, three on target. And yet, against Simeone’s side, domination has never been a guarantee for victory, and this contest was no exception.
PSG were notably better than their opponents in the first half already, and even Molina’s equalizer came as a bit of a surprise so quickly after Zaire-Emery’s opener.
Barcola, Dembele and Hakimi looked lively as the match progressed but wasted numerous chances between them, Asensio was very pale throughout and was hooked for Lee Kang-in after just over an hour, along with Neves who made way for Fabian Ruiz. Just five minutes later, Enrique strengthen his attacking line by introducing striker Randal Kolo Muani instead of Zaire-Emery, and later tried with Desire Doue coming on for Dembele; all to no avail.
PSG spent the last couple of minutes of regular time practically inside Atletico’s box and it seemed the visitors’ defence was holding on by a thread doomed eventually to snap, but on this occasion, football threw the odd-zero on. Griezmann led that fatal counterattack, and having no strength left to race against the PSG defence, he sent a pass across the pitch with pin-point accuracy, finding Correa on the edge of the box. Much fresher than the players standing in his way, the Atletico substitute burst in and scored, delivering a huge blow to the home side, their manager and their fans.
The standings
Following the games played on Wednesday, Atletico still have a lot to do to secure a place in the knockout stages. With two victories and two defeats, they sit in 23rd place with six points to their name.
The Rojiblancos travel to Prague to clash with Sparta next in the competition, before welcoming Slovan Bratislava to Madrid. The stage will be set for a proper showdown when Bayer Leverkusen come to the Wanda Metrolopolitano in January, followed by the conclusion of the stage away to RB Salzburg.
However, the situation has become downright alarming for PSG, who are now 25th with just five points, and they play all their remaining matches of the group stage away from home, apart from welcoming Manchester City to the French capital.
It’ll be a big challenge next as they travel to Munich to face Bayern after domestic challenges against Angers and Toulouse. Then it’s away to RB Salzburg, before the Premier League champions come to town. Enrique’s side end the stage with another trip to Germany, where they’ll face VfB Stuttgart.
Gallagher flying high at Atletico
Throughout his spell at Chelsea, Gallagher was frequently linked with departure from Stamford Bridge, and even sent out on several loan spells. The reluctance of different managers to give him a real chance and constant reports claiming he had no future with the London Blues were somewhat bewildering, given that his performances warranted a bit of faith. They eventually offloaded him to Atletico for £34 million this summer, and the La Liga side certainly haven’t regretted a single penny of that money.
It took the 24-year-old England international very little time to pick up his first Player of the Month award for his new club, and it’s not an overstatement to say he’s currently thriving in Simeone’s setup. His levels of perseverance on the pitch often stand out, very reminiscent of what players like Gabi and Koke were doing for the Rojiblancos for a very long time.
In this particular game, he was deployed on the left side of midfield, and he had frequent duels with Hakimi and Dembele, largely stifling their influence on the game down that flank. Molina may have scored the equalizer and Correa may have come off the bench to become the hero, but Gallagher’s contribution was just as vital for this outstanding success by Atletico.
It would surely be interesting to hear the thoughts of Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on this subject.
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