Oblak and Saúl revive Atlético in El Sadar

After their painful elimination in the Cup and criticism of the refereeing at the Bernabéu, Jan Oblak and Saúl Ñíguez were in charge of reviving Atlético de Madrid at El Sadar. In a hard-fought match against a tireless Osasuna in which the rojiblanco team could also lose, even if they didn’t deserve it, Atlético took, thanks to their goalkeeper, the scorer of the only goal and his assistant, Rodrigo de Paul, who signed a great performance, a very suffered victory in rojillo terrain.

Atlético, saved by Oblak ten minutes before making it 0-1, had a hard time breaking Osasuna’s resistance, which they did not achieve until the final stretch, when a long pass from De Paul controlled with his chest by Saúl and culminated with a Right hand was worth it for the player from Alicante to beat Aitor Fernández, also decisive to prevent in the last minutes of give and take that the victory of Atlético was broader. Atlético ended up asking for the time, but with their performance, although their football did not shine, and their display against such a difficult rival, it was worth adding the three points after their physical effort in the cup derby and the mental blow suffered against their eternal rival .

Saúl’s first goal as a rojiblanco this season after his return from Chelsea rewarded Atlético’s insistence on El Sadar, where Osasuna’s order and discipline once again prevailed until a lethal connection from Paul-Saúl tipped the balance in a defensive oversight of the premises. Osasuna fell with dignity, who lacked bite above and Oblak had plenty to surprise a highly demanded Atlético now that the ticket to the Champions League is their only objective and a possible departure of Diego Pablo Simeone at the end of the season seems increasingly clear .

With seven changes in Osasuna’s eleven compared to the Cup match in which they sealed their place in the semifinals against Sevilla, thanks to a goal from Abde in extra time, Jagoba Arrasate’s team once again exhibited defensive sacrifice and handcuffed Atlético during A whole first half in which he prevented the rojiblancos from having fluidity and creating chances. The equality was then maximum between a local team that continually looked for the unbalancing Abde on the left wing and a very thick Atlético, until they reacted after the break.

Then it was another Atlético in the second half, more ambitious and generating play, especially since Saúl and Morata jumped onto the field, immediately after Oblak, shot by Moi Gómez, prevented Osasuna from taking the lead. That save from the Slovenian goalkeeper marked the future of the clash, resolved definitively by an error in the defense of the Navarrese team and a quality shot from the colchoneros, who could later even score another couple of goals.

Aitor Fernández was then decisive with two consecutive stops against Griezmann and Giménez, although in order not to lose the habit, Atlético was not able to impose its superiority and control in the end against an Osasuna that did not stop trying to equalize with their hearts. Thus, with the rojillos desperately attacking, Atlético could not breathe until the final whistle.