Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa drew blanks as Atletico Madrid slumped to a stalemate against Granada on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid’s top-four aspirations suffered a massive blow after succumbing to a goalless draw with Granada on Wednesday. It was a poor result for the home side, who could potentially slip to fourth place if Sevilla and Barcelona win their games in hand.
As the scoreline suggests, it was a disappointing performance from Atletico Madrid. They lacked the productivity and penetration going forward up against a solid Granada backline that looked calm and composed for the majority of the game. Although the hosts did not fail in creating goalscoring opportunities, the end product was lacking.
Los Colchoneros managed as many as 22 shots on goal, but only one of them hit the target. To put things into perspective, Granada mustered two shots on target with just seven attempts. Such a display of inaccuracy in front of goal meant Atletico Madrid were unable to break the shackles of the opposition defence that lined up extremely well and made life difficult for the attackers.
Atletico Madrid were quite close to sealing a last-minute winner like on the weekend, but they were denied by the post, ultimately leading to a stalemate. And here, at The Hard Tackle, we will run the rule over Atletico Madrid players in their disappointing draw with Granada this midweek.
All over in Madrid. pic.twitter.com/0R4hjbv807
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) April 20, 2022
Jan Oblak: 6/10
With Granada mustering only two shots on target, Jan Oblak did not have much to do. He remained alert throughout the ninety minutes and strolled around for what was a fairly simple clean sheet.
Stefan Savic: 6/10
Stefan Savic was very close to sealing the winner for Atletico Madrid late in the proceedings, but his headed effort from a corner was not on target. Defensively, the centre-back fared well against the Granada attackers in defensive duels, but his yellow card means he will miss the next game against Athletic Club.
Mario Hermoso: 7/10
Mario Hermoso was asked to operate in a central defensive role, as opposed to a left-sided role in the back three. His ability on the ball, coupled with his wide range of passing balanced out Savic’s lack of quality in the build-up play. He fared extremely well defensively as well, keeping tabs on Luis Javier Suarez.
FT: Atletico Madrid 0 – 0 Granada
? xG: 1.36 – 0.23
⚽ Shots: 22 – 7
? MOTM: Mario Hermoso (8.24)#AtletiGranadahttps://t.co/4ThgS8dRws pic.twitter.com/Q6Y9AHYIqp— FotMob Stats (@FotMob_Stats) April 20, 2022
Reinildo: 6.5/10
Operating on the left side of the back three, Reinildo looked decent defensively, showing his work-ethic and physical prowess. But he was close to a second booking, which is why Diego Simeone opted to sub him off at half-time.
Marcos Llorente: 5/10
Marcos Llorente was expected to be a vital cog in Atletico Madrid’s creative outlet. He looked promising, at times with his offensive movements and support out wide. But he lacked any kind of end product in his crosses or attempts on goal, leading to a rather pedestrian performance from the Spanish international.
Rodrigo De Paul: 5/10
Rodrigo De Paul’s lobbed through balls were vital in helping Atletico Madrid kick-start several counter-attacks. But apart from that, the Argentine truly could not impact the game with his creative brilliance. He lacked the accuracy in his attempts and had trouble breaking the shackles of a bunkered Granada defence.
Koke: 6/10
Koke looked solid for large parts of the game. His passing, movement and ability to control the game were vital in helping Atletico Madrid retain dominance in the middle of the park. But there was a lack of creative brilliance in his performance, especially against a deep sitting Granada backline.
Javi Serrano: 6/10
It was a special evening for Javi Serrano, who was given the opportunity to start for Atletico Madrid in the middle of the park. Barring one individual error, the youngster looked rather impressive, especially in such a high-stakes encounter. Unfortunately, because of the magnitude of this game, he was subbed off at half-time, in favour of an attacking player.
-Javi Serrano shouldn’t have come off. He was the only one besides Koke who was notable the first half
-Cholo Jr. played 5 minutes and had a better match than half our team. He was eager to play. Give him some more minutes.
-Luck wasn’t on our side but we weren’t great either.— Bas van der Pols (@basvdpols) April 20, 2022
Yannick Carrasco: 6/10
Yannick Carrasco looked the liveliest among the Atletico Madrid attackers in this game. He was always willing to make life difficult for the Granada full-backs with his darting runs out wide and the ability to drift inside. But the Belgian international also lacked accuracy in his crosses or attempts on goal.
Angel Correa: 4.5/10
Angel Correa struggled to make an impression against Granada. Apart from a promising attempt on goal, the Argentine did not offer anything of note. He was subbed off midway through the second half.
Antoine Griezmann: 5.5/10
Antoine Griezmann started the game well and was even close to winning a penalty for Atletico Madrid in the first half. But his influence faded as the game progressed, with the Frenchman being largely anonymous in the second half, before eventually making way for Matheus Cunha.
?| Rodrigo de Paul: “Griezmann's ankle was quite bad due to the action in the area, I don't know, the VAR will have seen it, the referee I suppose also, if they saw it from there and have a better perspective, all I can say is is that Griezmann had quite a damaged ankle.” pic.twitter.com/wmkThFGv31
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) April 20, 2022
SUBSTITUTES
Sime Vrsaljko: 4/10
Sime Vrsaljko was brought in to replace Reinildo, who was dangerously close to getting sent off. The right-back, though, could not offer any strong resistance at the back.
Luis Suarez: 5/10
Luis Suarez worked hard to make things happen in the final third, but he simply does not have the pace or the quality to change the complexion of the game on a whisker.
Renan Lodi: 5/10
Renan Lodi was introduced to add more balance to the Atletico Madrid defence which looked vulnerable at times. He tried to offer attacking support going forward but to no avail.
Matheus Cunha: 6.5/10
Matheus Cunha was very close to sealing a winner, but his attempt on goal hit the post. The Brazilian looked quite lively and should have been introduced much earlier in the proceedings.
Giuliano Simeone: N/A
The son of Diego Simeone was handed his debut in the last minute. He did not play enough to warrant a rating.
