So he played the whole match which is a great thing for his career at Atletico Madrid but man did they get owned...
Solari got Simeone's number in this one. Arias' side was specially vulnerable, partly because he didn't have proper relays when he went up, but also because he kept going up knowing that his side was virtually unprotected. Gimenez, Correa and Saul were virtually unseen for most of the game, yet Simeone took out Lemar who was having a decent game. Morata's disavowed goal and Thomas' red card just sealed Atletico's faith in a very bad day for Simeone's side.
Arias on the bench today. I guess Simeone trusts Juan Fran and his size in a physical match like this.
Surprised no one has mentioned this but both Arias and Solano are starting today for Atletico. Probably means neither of them will play against Juventus but still. Good to see them starting.
Makes me root for Atleti against Juve even more now assuming Simeone will keep with this rotation of Arias and Solano starting the Liga. The deeper they go the more chances for playing time Solano will get in theory.
Another reason to call up more then 23 especially when not having a LB was a massive issue for us at the WC
Remember there are only 6 subs allowed per game. To me, Calling 30 players is essentially having a high end practice session for a few of the players. For those of you who attended a practice session for a friendly, i imagine these NT sessions being pretty light in terms of intensity or are players going all out to prove a point / send a message?? Basically I’m trying to say is that whether it’s 23 or 33 players, I don’t know if it is incrementally beneficial for the extra guys - maybe for the guys age 18-21?
this is a friendly call up date. Have you ever considered the player(s) that have to be sent home? Let's say Borre, who I feel should have been in this call up. Travels over 2 days to get to Tokyo. Practices a few days with the team and then has to be sent back home on this long embarrassing trip because they can only line up with 18-23 on the roster. That's a ridiculous and unprofessional manner for any DT to behave and I'm glad it's just kept at 23 for this call up. One can make the case for a larger roster pre-Copa America or WC May/June matches where they have a lot more time to prepare and try with a larger group. All in all I can understand for folks making the case for other players. We all have some sort of issue with X names in every call up.
More good injury news... ...Arias is on the roster to play today. Hopefully he gets some minutes and looks fine.
Arias starts for the second straight game. Must win at the Camp Nou if Atleti have any hope of stealing the title. Hopefully he has a good game, either way glad he's getting experience in high stakes games like this.
Diego Costa the moron gets a red card for dissent and Simeone decides to shift to a back 3 and sacrifice Arias for Correa on 35 minutes . Not his fault, tactical adjustment makes sense in a must win game. Maybe its a positive thing in the long run just coming back from injury in a game that would have really would have cost max exertion.