On January 3, before the end of the domestic New Year's Day holiday, Atletico Madrid has refocused, and the game tasks are coming one after another. In the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, Atletico Madrid will travel to the city of Lleida in Catalonia to take on Lleida, a West Liga side who eliminated Real Sociedad in the previous round.

If it weren't for Simeone's confidence that the team has an absolute advantage, he would never have let the team devote themselves to the task of playing as soon as the holiday was over. It can only be said that Simeone values the league more. The Copa del Rey is just a platform for him to tap new players and restore the form of some of the main players who have returned from injury. Atletico are not as well-established as Barcelona and can rule out two or three similar line-ups. Therefore, for the relatively chicken cup competition, you can only take one step at a time.

In the away game against Lleida, Wen Zhihao was placed in the squad and went out with the team. In addition to him, Simeone also arranged for half of the main players of the first team to play away from home. Because Lleida's comeback against Real Sociedad away in the last round also sounded the alarm for Simeone, and he didn't dare to take it too lightly.

Although the importance of the Copa del Rey will be leaned back, if the ship capsizes in front of the Spanish Championship team, the team's face is one thing, and the doubts of all parties will not make Simeone feel better.

Being a big boss is certainly famous, but there is one thing that is very unfair. The outside world will be very demanding. Winning games, winning streaks are normal for everyone, and very few people think of a manager when they win. And once the game is upset and lost, the head coach is probably the first to take the blame. Even if it's a mistake on the pitch, the manager will be accused of making a mistake or not being able to control the team well.

Therefore, the more the weaker the team, Simeone is more cautious. Although he ignores the opponent strategically, he attaches great importance to tactics, at least the pre-game starting list, including Wen Zhihao, and all the main players play, Simeone specifically asked not to have a fluke mentality because the opponent is weak, waiting for the opponent to make a mistake and send the opportunity, and still take the initiative to create opportunities and seize opportunities like the normal rhythm of the game.

In this game, Simeone wants more than just results. A victory with no tactical value fails to achieve the fundamental purpose of discovering new talents.

Barre, who was eye-catching in the last round of the Copa del Rey, continued to start as a right midfielder in this round, although the youngster did not play in the league, but it can be seen from the arrangement of the Copa del Rey that he has entered the scope of Simeone's investigation.

Wen Zhihao was given a special extra task to pass the ball to Barre as much as possible, and Simeone's intentions Wen Zhihao understood in seconds, which was to focus on observing him. Wen Zhihao made a "you are lucky" look at Barre, but he didn't know how much pressure Barre was under in front of him and how much he envied him.

Barre is 20 years old, and he is still working hard for the possibility of the main substitute for the first team, compared to Wen Zhihao, who is three years younger than him, has become an important weapon for the team in the Champions League and La Liga. What makes him feel the most disparity is that his performance depends on Wen Zhihao to pass him the ball!

……

However, in the game, Simeone found that something was wrong, and the firepower output of Barre on the right side that he wanted to see was completely absent. Facing the West C team, the scene of Koke and Barre flying on the wings did not appear in the first ten minutes of the opening period. The crux of the problem is not Barre, but Wen Zhihao, who Simeone has always been completely at ease!

It's not that Wen Zhihao's passes are not accurate enough, and his passes seem to be very small.

On the one hand, it is of course the reason for the intensive defense of the opponent's five defenders, but is the West C team like freezing Wen Zhihao?

The internal cause is always primary. Wen Zhihao's movement rate and running range on the field are simply different from his normal state before the holiday. And after being robbed by the other party, the counter-robbery is not as active as usual.

Simeone wondered how it stands to reason that after nearly a week's vacation, as long as you are disciplined enough, you should have enough time to rest and adjust.

What the hell is going on? Could it be that the problem is during the holidays?

Simeone will not doubt Wen's ability to self-regulate. A person who regularly trains himself is not diligent enough?

The only reason that can convince Simeone is that the schedule in the early stage is too intensive, and Wen Zhihao estimates that he has practiced too often, not rested enough, and his body is slow to react.

Despite Wen Zhihao's downturn, Atletico Madrid still achieved an absolute advantage on the field with its overall strong strength. At halftime, Simeone removed Wen Zhihao and replaced him with Saul to continue to strengthen the midfield.

Wen Zhihao's play is well known to himself, since joining Atletico Madrid, he has never started and was substituted at half-time. It must be his own performance that makes the leader very dissatisfied.

Wen Zhihao was mentally prepared to accept criticism, but Simeone gave him encouragement.

After Saul's debut, Atletico changed from a 4-4-2 formation to a single-striker formation, but completely activated the two wings, and Atletico's opener came from Barre's curling shot after a one-two on the wing.

Ten minutes later, Atletico Madrid's front three passed, Saul went straight through, and Gameiro used his body to carry the opponent's central defender and shoot hard, and the ball went straight into the corner.

The final score was also fixed at 2:0, which was not a big victory, but it was enough. Atletico Madrid won their first win of the new year.

……

The Copa del Rey is just a prelude to the second half of the season. There are only four days left before the start of the 18th round of La Liga, and Wen Zhihao's sudden decline in form made Simeone very uneasy. That night at the away hotel, Simeone found Wen Zhihao to talk. did not directly mention the past game, but just reminded Wen Zhihao to pay attention to scientific adjustment of physical condition, and he will play a greater role in the more difficult game in the second half.

Wen Zhihao, of course, could hear the overtones in Simeone's words. For others, Simeone may be the most direct criticism: I am very dissatisfied with your performance in this game, adjust your condition!

The drum does not need to be hammered, Wen Zhihao understands this truth, patted his chest and promised Simeone that when the league restarts, he will return to his normal state before the holiday.

In fact, Wen Zhihao knows in his heart that there is a reason why his physical condition is somewhat there.

Blame Gabi!

Those glasses of wine not only made me drunk all night, but also slept all morning. It also disrupted his normal training plan.

And professional athletes are more physically demanding. It doesn't have an effect on ordinary people after sobering up, but it is even more difficult for players who don't drink alcohol to recover after exposure to alcohol. Alcohol can have a huge effect on the motor nerves.

couldn't afford to hide, Wen Zhihao decided that he couldn't mix with Gabi in the future, and it was the best policy to stay away.

When Wen Zhihao thought of this, he felt that he was still quite kind, and he didn't tell the head coach about being drunk, otherwise Gabi would definitely be in trouble.

For the sake of unity within the team, Wen Zhihao feels that he has fully taken care of the overall situation. But when I think of Gabi's cheats, is it worth it to take the blame for him?