『Chapter error, click here to report』

Three days after Atletico Madrid eliminated their rivals 5-3 on aggregate to advance to the Copa del Rey final, they ushered in the 24th round of La Liga on their home turf.

Due to the first leg of the Champions League 1/8 final against AC Milan in Italy five days later, Griezmann, who joined in the winter transfer period, was unable to play for Atletico Madrid in the Champions League knockout round because he had already played for Real Sociedad in the Champions League group stage.

As a result, Diego Simeone put Feng Quan and Diego Costa on the bench against Valladolid, and then sent Griezmann and David Villa as the team's double arrows.

In addition, in midfield, Saul, who is good at dribbling, replaced Koke, thus giving the latter more rest before the Champions League quarter-final against AC Milan.

At the same time, because Valladolid, who averaged less than one goal per game in the first 23 league games, could hardly pose a threat to Atletico Madrid's steel defense, Diego Simeone sent a full bench defense composed of Xavi Manquillo, Aldervireld, Jose Jimenez, and Xu Xin.

Although Atletico Madrid's temporary starting lineup was still a little rusty to match, they quickly took the initiative on the field with the advantage of overall strength.

However, in the face of Valladolid's iron bucket formation, Atletico Madrid, who lacked a strong fulcrum in the front, failed to quickly convert the advantage on the field into goals. And it wasn't until the 21st minute of the first half that Mario Suarez, who was good at heading the spot, received a corner kick from Griezmann in front of the goal and shot the ball into the goal range for the first time.

Although Mario Suarez's header was not converted into a goal, Diego Simeone allowed him to increase the number of assists in the subsequent games.

Mario Suarez, who comes from a midfielder, can't match Diego Costa in terms of attacking ability, but he can still do it if he only takes on the task of being the fulcrum of the frontcourt.

In the 29th minute of the first half, captain Gabi received a cross from Xu Xin in his own half, and then sent a precise long pass over the top to find Mario Suarez who was ambushed in the front.

With his back to the goal, Mario Suarez pressed the opposing defender and gave the ball to Alda Turan, who stepped forward to receive it, and then quickly completed the turn and inserted it into the opponent's penalty area.

Alda Turan took two steps forward after receiving the pass, and then made a long-range shot three or four meters from the top of the penalty area. Then, when two defenders stepped forward to block the shot, the ball was distributed to Xu Xin, who inserted an assist along the right side.

Xu Xin, who assisted to the front, took the ball forward and came to the corner of the penalty area, and then sent a cross with a very flat arc near the front of the goal.

Mario Suarez, who was inserted in front of goal, struggled to shoot directly under the interference of the opposing defenders, but still used his height and bounce to cross the ball to the back post.

With the Valladolid players' attention focused on Mario Suarez, no defender could touch the ball in mid-air when he opted for a header.

The next moment, Griezmann, who had been ambushed on the left flank, appeared like a ghost near the football landing point and broke through the Valladolid goal with a header that he was not good at.

Valladolid, who conceded a goal first, did not immediately launch a counterattack, after all, with their attacking power, it is not only difficult to break through Atletico Madrid's steel defense, but once they invest too many troops in the attack, they may be seized by the opponent to counterattack to expand the lead.

As a result, there was a somewhat strange scene in this game, Valladolid, who were behind the score, continued to retreat in their own half of the defense, while the leading Atletico Madrid played a passing tactic in the midfield in order to save as much energy as possible.

It wasn't until the 67th minute of the game, after Diego Simeone replaced Feng Quan and Diego Costa in order to prepare for the Champions League 1/8 finals five days later, that Atletico Madrid scored with Feng Quan's long-range shot from the perimeter in the 76th minute and Diego Costa's header in the 84th minute, and the final score was fixed at 3-0.

…………

AC Milan, who barely qualified for the knockout round of the Champions League as the second place in Group H, although they successfully avoided Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Real Madrid in the draw for the Champions League 1/8 finals held in December last year, but the draw of Atletico Madrid, the opponent with the most attacking firepower in the five major leagues this season, although it did not worry the Milan players, made the club's general manager Galliani quite embarrassed.

Although Atletico Madrid's goal statistics this season are the top five leagues, for Serie A teams that have long ingrained the concept of defense in their bones, no matter how strong the opponent's attack is, they cannot be feared.

What's more, most of Atletico Madrid's goals were scored through quick counter-attacks, and the overall strength of this season has declined further, and AC Milan, who are only ranked 11th after 24 rounds of Serie A, is unlikely to take the initiative to attack, leaving much space for Atletico Madrid's counterattack.

At the same time, AC Milan has won 11 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses in 24 home games against Spanish teams in its history, and has maintained an unbeaten record in the last 4 home games against Spanish teams (1 win, 3 draws).

Therefore, in the eyes of the Milan players, although Atletico Madrid's goal statistics are very terrifying, their actual attacking power is not as terrible as the statistics show, and they still have a psychological advantage in the historical meetings with Spanish teams.

However, how to limit the sharpest forward combination in Europe, Feng Quan and Diego Costa, is still a headache for Milan.

Especially the wind that currently dominates the two lists of goals and assists in Serie A, even made Milan's veteran goalkeeper Abbiati (Christian Abbiati) see in him the shadow of Ronaldo, who was unstoppable in his youth (note, this refers to the "real" Ronaldo, not C. Ronaldo).

Because of a chance encounter, when Abbiati learned that the Milan club was expected to sign Fengquan at a price of 20 million euros (Milan's actual bid was 15 million euros, and the other 5 million asked Fengquan to "settle it by itself"), but finally missed it because of the difference of 5 million euros, a complicated expression like eating a fly immediately appeared on his face.

Abbiati couldn't understand how the always shrewd Milan hierarchy would give up on scoring 29 goals and providing 15 assists in 23 La Liga games because of the price difference of 5 million euros. In his opinion, if he can decide on the club's recruitment work, even if he needs to pay nearly 100 million euros to get Fengquan, he will not hesitate to pay it.

"Bookmark for easy reading"